RCB wicketkeeper batsman Arun Karthik smashed a six off Redbacks’ Daniel Christian in the last-ball thriller on Wednesday against South Australia Redbacks, and with it Royal Challenger Bangalore booked its semi final berth in the Champions League T20 Cricket 2011, whereas New South Wales thrashed defending champion Chennai Super Kings by 46 runs to secure its berth for the semis in the CLT20 2011.

Royal Challengers is looking very strong in batting with the presence of many match winners in the last two games of the CLT20 2011, RCB scored more than 200 runs. This year, in the Champions League T20 tournament, Chris Gayle has smashed 16 sixes so far and he is the leading run getter for his side. In the last game, Virat Kohli and Tilakratne Dilshan added quick 100 runs and both are looking in good form. Saurabh Tiwari and Mayank Agarwal have power to hit the ball over the rope and contribute many runs for their side.

Captain Denial Vettori is a good all-rounder and on many occasions contributes with the bat and also frustrates batsmen with his tight and canny bowling. However, in the last game of the CLT20, RCB bowlers were very expensive. Dirk Nannes needs to take command in bowling and will have to use his experience. Syed Mohammad is a quality bowler, but S Arvind needs improvement.

On the other hand, led by Simon Katich, New South Wales is one of the strongest contenders for winning the Champions League T20 Cricket tournament this year. The team has won three consecutive games in the league stage after losing the first game against Cape Cobras. NSW won against qualifier Trinidad & Tobago in the one-over eliminator and against the other semi-finalist Mumbai Indians by five wickets.

In the last game, David Warner played his best inning in T20 and scored 135 runs in 69 balls with the strike rate of 195.65. In his inning, Warner scored 92 runs from just fours and sixes. The other opener Shane Watson is also one of the best players in this form of cricket. Steven Smith, Henriques, Simon Katich all are very talented and are proven match winners. In bowling Stuart Clark, Mitchell Starc, and Steve O'Keefe are all very good and performed consistently well in the on-going Champions League T20 Cricket 2011.

The winner of the first semi-final of the Nokia Champions League T20 in tonight's game will play against the winner of second semi-final, which will be played between Mumbai Indians vs. Somerset, on Sunday, October 9 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.