South Australia, with an excellent performance from Michael Klinger, booked themselves a place in the semifinals of the Champions League T20 series in Durban, South Africa on Friday.
The Redbacks beat the Bangalore Royal Challengers by 8 wickets with 9 balls to spare. Klinger, who was unbeaten at 69 led his team to victory and did a fantastic job as the skipper as well. This is his third match winning fifty in three games and his latest one against the Challengers earned him a Player of the Match award as well.
He shared a 124-run partnership with opener Daniel Harris who was run out at 57. Christian’s 4 wicket haul and Shaun Tait’s 2-23 ensured South Australia that the opposing team were restricted to a total of 154.
The Australians made a sensible, steady chase and the Challenger’s bowling line up soon became loose and a couple of misfields ensured them of a comfortable finish. Despite the two relatively early wickets that the Australians lost, Klinger and Ferguson led the team to victory with 9 balls to spare. This is the third straight win for the Redbacks.
Previously, they had beaten the Lions and Mumbai Indians and are currently the highest in the points tally in Group B. At the moment, it still cannot be said with certainty who they will face in the semis, but they will play against the team with the second highest points from Team A in Centurion on September 25.