O’Reilly took four for 27 as Guyana struggled to 148 for nine. The Lions won with 4.5 overs to spare as captain Alviro Petersen (57 not out) and pinch-hitter Richard Cameron (78 not out) put on an unbeaten 133 for the second wicket.
It kept the Lions in contention for a place in the semi-finals. A win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final Group B match will clinch it for the South African side.
“The guys play for each other,” said Petersen. He praised Cameron’s powerful hitting for enabling the Lions to improve their net run rate, which could be a factor in they lose to Bangalore.
Super Kings face survival battle
After an unsuccessful gamble by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings will have to wait until Wednesday to know whether they will qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.
Chennai were beaten in a Super Over by Victoria Bushrangers after both teams scored 162 in 20 overs. Dhoni entrusted the shoot-out over to off-spinner Ravichandra Ashwin, who conceded 23 runs, 22 of them scored by Victoria captain David Hussey.
Chennai could only manage 13 off medium-pacer Clint McKay.
It set up a situation where three teams could finish with three wins each in Group A - Chennai, Victoria and the Eastern Cape Warriors. Victoria play Wayamba Elevens in Centurion today and will be favourites to beat the Sri Lankans, who have lost both their games so far.
Chennai meet the Warriors in Port Elizabeth in the last round robin match of the tournament on Wednesday in what shapes up as a crucial encounter.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2010.
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