Trinidad and Tobago beat Cape Cobras by 7 wickets
Dwayne Bravo (58*) and Darren Ganga (44*) helped Trinidad and Tobago outclass Cape Cobras by 7 wickets in the second semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Trinidad and Tobago will face New South Wales Blues in the Champions League T20 final at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
Chasing 176, Trinidad batsmen fired in unison and scored boundaries at regular intervals. Bravo smashed 58 in just 34 balls with the help of 4 fours and 3 sixes to their side roar into the final.
Bravo was ably supported by Darren Ganga, who slammed 44 runs in 31 balls.
Earlier, JP Duminy eked out a responsible unbeaten 62 to propel Cape Cobras to a competitive 175 for five against Trinidad and Tobago. Duminy showed patience when his partners were changing quickly from the other end and cut loose towards the end to shape the innings of his side, after opting to bat.
The 40-ball knock of the left-hander was adorned with four fours and three sixes. Gibbs, struggling for runs, struck form when it mattered most as he smashed his way to 27-ball 42, which provided the impetus to the South African innings in the first half.
His entertaining knock was laced with five fours and one shot over the ropes. Ravi Rampaul bowled an exceptional final over, giving away just two runs even as Lendl Simmons (2/17) was the most successful bowler for the Caribbean side.
Gibbs made his intent clear when he lofted paceman Ravi Rampaul for an effortless six over the extra cover. Spinner Sherwin Ganga, who surprisingly had started the proceedings, drew the first blood when rival skipper Andrew Puttick (10) went for a pull, missed the line and found his timber disturbed.
Henry Davids came to the pitch and smacked a boundary in the third ball he faced from Sherwin, making a positive start. The fireworks began as Gibbs showed scant respect to Dwyane Bravo, the highest wicket taker of the tournament, creaming him for 18 runs by hitting four smart on-side boundaries in the sixth over of the innings.
Daren brought in Dave Mohammed and the left-arm spinner responded with the wicket of Davids (7), who was done in by a splendid catch by the bowler off his own bowling. Duminy continued with his fine form, hitting Mohammed for a four and a six, maintaining the good run-rate.
Gibbs survived a stumping chance off Kieron Pollard in the last ball of the eight over but Pollard got his man as he bowled him in the first ball of his next over. Rory Kleinveldt (21) came to the pitch and straight away made an impact by hitting Navin Stewart and Pollard for huge sixes but departed soon while attempting another big shot off Lendl Simmons.
Simmons struck again, removing Justin Ontong (7), who just two balls before had got a life off Mohammed. Duminy on the other hand was batting sensibly, taking sharp singles and picking up occasional boundaries. After completing his fifty, Duminy opened up and smashed Bravo for a four and a six, pushing the accelerator button.