Sabres vs Eagles: It's a battle of equals

HYDERABAD: It is very difficult to differentiate between two teams, who have traversed a similar path in their quest for glory. Somerset Sabres and Diamond Eagles, who will clash in their Super Eight match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Friday, have thus far failed to convince the patrons of the game that they are a genuinely champion side and deserve a spot in the Super Eight.

While a fancied team like the Deccan Chargers fell by the wayside, the Sabres, who have been unconvincing with their cricket, find themselves pitched with the best eight teams in the Champions League Twenty20 Championship. The Sabres, who lack big name players barring skipper Justin Langer and Marcus Trescothick, were lucky to have got the better of the Chargers in a last-ball effort in their group match. But they were shown their place by the vibrant Trinidad and Tobago and their progress depended on the game between the Chargers and T&T.

As luck would have it, the Chargers dug their own grave by conniving to lose their game against T&T from a position of strength on Wednesday night to the great relief of the English side.

Thus the Sabres live to fight for yet another day and to their great fortune they take on the Eagles, who too have a similar story to tell. Grouped in a tough pool, the Eagles found the New South Wales Blues too hot to handle but pulled off a heart-stopping win over the clueless Sussex via the eliminator. The Eagles are still groping in the darkness with their batting as skipper Boeta Dippenaar has been failing himself.

Ryan McLaren and Rilee Rossouw are the only batsmen to have garnered over 50 runs each thus far for the side. That speaks volumes of the batting strength of the South African side. But their vitality lies in their bowling which stood them in good stead against Sussex. Cornelius de Villiers was in blistering form with the cherry as he decimated Sussex in the Super Over to book his side a Super Eight spot.