Nokia CLT20 returns to India this year after its South Africa sojourn in 2010. Approaching its third high-powered season, the league has already provided many statistical highs. Take a look at the worlds favourite T20 competition through a numeric lens.
In the age of batsmen-friendly cricket pitches, "I wish I could prepare the wicket myself" could well be the refrain of harried bowlers. But there's one man in Australia who actually knows what it's like to bowl on a wicket he has prepared himself.
The match was tied. Whether Hampshire or Somerset would go to India for the Champions League Twenty20, 2011 Qualifiers was to be decided by the one-over eliminator. Somerset batsmen Jos Buttler and Craig Keiswetter set a target of 17 for the opposition.
When Paul Nixon, his entire frame of six feet stretched to his right, caught a thick edge off Kieron Pollard's bat, he lived the dream of every sportsman in the twilight of his career. At that juncture, Somerset were placed comfortably at 89 for two, needing another 57 from 39 balls, with their most destructive batsman, Pollard, at the crease. But seeing their 40-year-old wicketkeeper pull off a stunner, the rest of the team were inspired to script Leicestershire's stunning triumph in the final of the Friends Life t20 Cup, 2011.
When Rohit Sharma emerged on the international scene, his large repertoire of shots, correct technique and the gift of placement tempted even the most measured cricket lover to deem him the heir apparent to the mighty Sachin Tendulkar. The belief gained weight when Rohit helped India win the CB Series in Australia in 2008 under the tutelage of the master himself.