Durban: In the first semifinals of the ongoing Champions League Twenty20, Highveld Lions defeated Delhi Daredevils by 22 runs. Delhi needed 140 runs to win but the IPL team could only manage 117 runs in their 20 overs.

Ross Taylor who was captaining the Daredevils in the absence of Mahela Jayawardena in the post match presentation ceremony said, “Our fielding was below par and we conceded 10-15 runs more. Lions played well in the middle overs.”

On the target, Taylor said, “140 was pretty gettable and we were confident at the half-way stage. The Lions bowled well and used the tennis ball bounce quite effectively. We should have chased down 140 but Lions did brilliantly in the field and deserved to win.”

On Delhi Daredevils’s campaign he said, “We only played three matches in the tournament, two of our matches were rained off and we never could get the momentum.”

Lions captain Alviro Petersen after the win said, “139 was a good total and our bowling was spot on. We needed our bowlers to come to party and they did exactly that. Morris was spectacular will the ball, he wanted to do well before the match started.”

On Neil McKenzie he said, “We had a descent start but Neil’s experience in the middle was critical. He played very well and finished the innings brilliantly.”

McKenzie who was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant innings said, “Guys did well upfront, we lost a bit of momentum in the middle but finished well. After the innings we felt that we were ten runs short but our bowlers bowled brilliantly. Any bowler who bowled could have been the man of the match instead of me.”
    

By Indian Sports News Network