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A battle of strategy on the cards
A battle of strategy is on the cards when in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore take on an impressive South Australia in the Champions League Twenty20 Group B encounter in Durban on Friday.
Both teams started their campaign in the T20 championship on a winning note and will strive to register another victory to consolidate their position on the points table.
The Anil Kumble-led Bangalore side, which finished third in the Indian Premier League III earlier this year, started their journey in the tournament by crushing a low-profile Guyana by nine wickets.
On the other hand, South Australia first snatched an 11-run victory over Lions and then inflicted a humiliating five-wicket defeat on another IPL side, the Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians.
Photographs: Reuters
Bangalore have to guard against complacency
Everything fell into place for Kumble's men against Guyana, and now they have to guard against complacency in Friday's tough encounter at the Kingsmead ground.
Experienced all-rounder Jacques Kallis commendably led Bangalore's bowling attack, while the pace duo of Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar extended excellent support to him.
Kumble, who picked just one wicket against Guyana, is expecting expect another all-round performance from his bowling department to break through South Australia's batting line-up.
Kallis and Rahul Dravid also clicked with the bat and produced a 78-run opening partnership, while at one-down Robin Uthappa cracked a quick unbeaten 25 off just eight balls to complete the task.
However, the other batsmen, including New Zealander Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli, whose mettle hasn't been put to the test in the event so far, should also be ready to make decent contributions with the bat.
South Australia have to show more consistency
Skipper Michael Klinger and his opening partner Daniel Harris played crucial roles in South Australia's consecutive wins.
The duo shared a 112-run partnership against Mumbai Indians to lay the foundation stone for their second win in the show-piece event.
But their middle-order batsmen have not done much in CLT20 so far and have to show more consistency in the days to come.
Paceman Shaun Tait spearheads the South Australia bowling attack, while Klinger will have more options in the form of his new-ball partner Gary Putland and fast bowler Daniel Christian.