Eagle Vs Somerset: Eagles 133 for 5 (van wky 47, Bailey 29) beat Somerset 132 for 8 (Durston 57, Hildreth 31, de Villiers 3-17) by five wickets Player of the match CJD de Villiers (Eagles) Decent bowling, complemented by disciplined batting, scripted Diamond Eagles' five-wicket victory over Somerset, who kissed their semi-final hopes goodbye after losing the League B encounter of the Champions League, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, in Hyderabad, on Friday. The Eagles bowlers, especially Cornelius de Villiers (4/17), did a brilliant job, allowing just one significant partnership in the Somerset innings and restricted the English outfit to a modest 132 for eight wickets. The same discipline was visible in their chase, as Morne van Wyk (47) and Ryan Bailey (29) guided them towards the victory mark and their teammates completed formalities with 1.2 overs to spare. The tone was set after Justin Langer opted to bat. de Villiers, who sealed the Eagles' promotion in the one-over eliminator against Sussex, raced through two wickets in his first over. Somerset slumped to 52 for 5 in nine overs and relied on their club's record sixth-wicket partnership of 77 charged by Wes Durston, but a target of 133 proved easy for Eagles. Eagles got off to an eventful start in pursuit of victory, with in-form Rilee Rossouw (13) in the thick of things. The attacking left-hander, who had slammed a half-century against Sussex, was clearly in a hurry today. He came down the track to smash the first ball across the rope, while thrashing the fourth delivery into the sightscreen for a massive six, to make a clear statement of intent. Morne van Wyk and Adrian McLaren (13) maintained the tempo, picking boundaries at will. Their stance yielded 30 quick runs before McLaren fell to Willoughby, having hit the bowler for a four off the previous delivery. In keeping with the trend, just when things were looking picture-perfect for the Eagles, came the next setback, as captain Boeta Dippenaar (18) holed out to Wes Durston off Waller in the 12th over. The situation merited caution and van Wyk … [Read more...]