In what will be the first clash of the Champions League T20 between two Asian teams, the IPL winners Chennai Super Kings will take on the Wayamba Elevens at Centurion. This will follow the Victoria-Central Districts clash on the same ground and will begin at 1530 hours GMT.

Given that the game is going to be played under lights, one can expect the Centurion track to swing around a bit. What will make Chennai the favourites is that they possess at least a couple of bowlers who can take advantage of these conditions – Doug Bollinger and Lakshmipathy Balaji – and make life difficult for the opposition. Having said that, the Chennai batting is also much better on paper than the Wayamba Elevens, and it is only fair that they go into the game at 8/15 (Stan James) as compared to 15/8 (William Hill).

Chennai’s batting has floundered at the start of their innings against the Central Districts. Matthew Hayden (7/2 at Blue Square) had got out to the first ball he faced, while Suresh Raina (4/1 at Stan James) and Murali Vijay (7/2 at Blue Square), both had their problems with the short ball. The question that will be asked is whether Wayamba has the potency to try and bounce out the top Chennai batsmen. In Chanaka Welegedara, they do have a bowler who can do that, but on the whole, the side relies on their spinners.

MS Dhoni (11/2 at SkyBet) hadn’t had a bat in the previous game due to a supposed viral illness, but will be a crucial cog in the line-up against a team he has played a lot against in the recent times.

For the Wayamba side, Mahela Jayawardene (5/2 at Ladbrokes) will be the most vital batsman. His early dismissal had pushed the side on to the back-foot in the previous and they could barely recover from that position. Jeevantha Kulatunga (7/2 at BetFred) did counter-attack with a half-century, but the Wayamba Elevens knew that his dismissal would prove crucial. And so it did.

On these South African tracks, Sri Lankan teams have often struggled in the past because they have lost far too many wickets at the start of the innings. This is where, the responsibility of the captain, Jehan Mubarak (6/1 at Blue Square) increases manifold. He will need to look to hold the anchor, even as Jayawardene takes a few risks at the other end.

Tips:
Favourites: Chennai Super Kings (8/15 at Stan James)
Top Chennai batsman: Matthew Hayden (7/2 at Blue Square)
Top Wayamba batsman: Jehan Mubarak (6/1 at Blue Square)