T038;T sink,take Cobras along

Trinidad and Tobago needed 24 from the last two overs,with three wickets in hand and two new batsmen at the crease.

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When Dale Steyn began his final over,with figures of 3-1-3-1 at that point,Cape Cobras looked overwhelming favourites to win and seal the first Champions League semifinal spot from Group A. Trinidad and Tobago needed 24 from the last two overs,with three wickets in hand and two new batsmen at the crease.

But one of them was Kevon Cooper,who had smashed 28 from 10 balls in Tamp;T8217;s previous match against Chennai. The Steyn vs Cooper battle had to wait two balls,the first of which was steered away to the third man fence by Ravi Rampaul. Once Cooper got on strike,he worked Steyn away for two doubles either side of a dot ball. Tamp;T needed 15 from seven.

Steyn8217;s last ball was a waist-high full toss,angling into Cooper,cramping him for room,theoretically. Somehow,the batsman managed to swing his arms through a massive arc and pound the ball over the long off ropes. Seven from six. The Chepauk crowd got on their feet and roared. They wanted a Tamp;T win so that CSK who would play the second match of the night would remain in contention.

Rampaul went early in Charl Langeveldt8217;s final over,but the momentum was too firmly with Tamp;T. Cooper snuffed out any hopes of a late Cobras revival off the very next ball,opening his face to send a low full toss streaking away behind point for four.

Till the very end,the Cobras seemed to have the game under control. Their own innings was a determined exercise in ensuring they didn8217;t repeat the mistakes that Chennai had made against the Tamp;T attack a couple of days before.

The bulk of Cobras8217; runs came from the third-wicket pair of Dane Vilas and Owais Shah,both of whom scored intelligent half-centuries,based around strike rotation. While Shah remained unbeaten on 63,Vilas was dismissed on 54 as Cobras finished at 137.

Brief scores: Cape Cobras 137/4 in 20 overs O Shah 63,D Vilas 54; S Badree 1/19 vs Tamp;T 138/8 in 19.4 overs K Cooper 25; J Kemp 3/22,c Langeveldt 2/32

All to play for

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Both Somerset and Warriors will need nothing less than a win to advance when they face each other at Bangalore on Wednesday. Later,RCB take on South Australia,with both teams in must-win situation.