Choice of game
My friends and I were fortunate enough to be attending the exciting opening game of the Champions League Twenty20 featuring the Highveld Lions against IPL runners-up Mumbai Indians. When I heard that the Wanderers was hosting the match, I swiftly snapped up tickets to be a part of the Joburg cricket-loving crowd.
Team supported
As a lifelong Lions fan, I was eager to see what my boys could do against a classy side such as the Mumbai Indians. It was a real case of David versus Goliath, considering it was surprise the Lions qualified for the tournament in the first place!
Key performer
There were several players who put their hands up, including Jonathan Vandiar, Neil McKenzie and Sachin Tendulkar. However, the player that I felt had the greatest impact was Shane Burger - he grabbed the valuable wickets of Tendulkar and Kieron Pollard when both men were threatening to take the game away from the Lions.
One thing I'd have changed
I would have started the game an hour later. The match got underway at 5.30pm and unfortunately many people were still coming through from their places of work. The traffic outside the Wanderers didn't do anyone favors. As a result, the ground was less than full when the first ball was bowled.
Face-off I relished
The current Lions team, unlike the Transvaal "Mean Machine" of the 80s, does not have a bevy of superstars, unfortunately. They do however have an enthusiastic bunch of cricketers who have shown great potential in the last domestic Pro20 competition. I was looking forward to see how the bowling attack, spearheaded by Robbie Frylink, would do against the Little Maestro, Sachin Tendulkar. As it turned out, Tendulkar did indeed give a textbook cricketing lesson to the greenhorn Lions' bowlers before Shane Burger produced an absolute peach of a delivery that had the great man bowled.
Wow moment
The win was obviously a massive wow moment for this long-suffering Lions fan! However, the single moment that really grabbed me was after the game, when the loudspeakers boomed out K'Naan's "Wavin' Flag", made popular during the recent football World Cup. The crowd rose as one and supporters of both teams waved their flags as colourful fireworks erupted above. A sight to behold indeed.
Player watch
The crowd were fairly mild-mannered and did not really heckle the boundary fielders. Lasith Malinga of Mumbai fielded close to us, but did not have a lot of work to do. It was much the same with Vaughn van Jaarsveld of the Lions. Harbhajan Singh did however give the crowd a guilty laugh when he fell flat on the pitch after slipping in his run-up before his first ball.
Shot of the day
Zaheer Khan came steaming in to bowl at Lions' veteran Neil McKenzie. The crowd anxiously held its breath. Up until now McKenzie had played a magnificent innings and was only a few runs shy of a well-deserved fifty. It was a short-pitched delivery and McKenzie played a wonderful pull to smash a leg-side six that ended half-way up the stands. What a way to bring up your fifty, good sir!
Crowd meter
After a sluggish start, the crowd began to fill up and enthusiastically started supporting their teams. Though the Lions were playing at their home ground, there was huge support for Mumbai and several Indian flags were waved energetically across the ground. Naturally Tendulkar received the biggest cheers, as did JP Duminy when he stepped out to bat. It was also great to hear a huge roar when McKenzie came out to bat - he's been a wonderful servant to Lions cricket over the years and he proved that he still has what it takes to perform at this level.
Entertainment
Enrique Iglesias entertained the crowd prior to the game, instantly making all the men in the crowd feel inferior. Sadly, the many threats from women along the lines of "I'll be throwing my underwear at him" never materialised. As has become the norm at Twenty20 games, cheerleaders entertained the crowd after each boundary or wicket. And with Vandiar, McKenzie and Tendulkar in such great form, the cheerleaders certainly got themselves a good workout.
Accessories
All that is really required for a Twenty20 game is a great group of mates and some cash with which to purchase food, drinks and those fun souvenirs that are seemingly a good idea at the time. The trusty camera did however make an appearance, capturing the many funny faces that were pulled, which no doubt will amuse work colleagues the following Monday once they are loaded on Facebook.
Banner of the day
The short nature of a Twenty20 game means that many people don't take the time to create their own banner. However, after Harbhajan Singh got knocked down to the ground after a fearsome Frylink delivery, a spectator quipped, "Get up man, it's not soccer!". Replays, however, confirmed that it was very understandable that Singh did go down after taking a ball like that just above the knee.
Marks out of 10
A very satisfactory 8 out of 10. Watching cricket at the Wanderers is always a great way to spend a Friday night. It was an excellent experience and made all the more memorable by the Lions grabbing an exciting victory. David had indeed defeated Goliath once again. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would urge all South Africans to attend as many Champions League games as they can.