With two wins and a game to play, Lions are just one victory away from
joining Sydney Sixers as the other team from Group B in the semi-finals.
Lions play the opening game of the Wanderers double-header on Saturday
and their match against Yorkshire will be closely followed by Chennai
Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, who face each other later in the
evening. A Lions win will reduce the IPL derby to a dead rubber. It's
been that kind of a tournament for the IPL teams, having to rely
on other results to progress. If Yorkshire can sneak in a win, though,
it opens up the group.
Nothing much has gone right for Yorkshire since qualifying for the main
draw. After being demolished by Sixers in the most one-sided game of the
tournament, their match against Mumbai Indians was washed out. They
managed to get some game time though, conceding 156 in just under 18
overs. They opened their account with two points from the washout, but
their anxieties grew when Ryan Sidebottom and Moin Ashraf pulled up with
injuries. Though Sidebottom returned to bowl, Ashraf limped off after
pulling his hamstring. Their fitness will be a concern ahead of the
Lions clash.
Yorkshire will have to get their act together against one of the form
teams of the tournament. Having calmly brushed aside the two IPL teams,
Lions tripped up against the most dangerous of the lot, Sixers, on
Thursday at Newlands. Gulam Bodi continued his good form from the Super
Kings game with a half-century, but his colleagues, Neil McKenzie and
Quinton de Kock, failed to show up. They will be back in home
surroundings at the Wanderers, but both teams will be up against the
weather, with rain forecast on match day.
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