NSW Crush Victoria by 79 runs, Reached in CL Final

New Delhi: A ruthless New South Wales breezed into the final of the Champions League Twenty20, steamrolling country cousins Victoria Bushrangers by 79 runs in a grossly lop-sided semifinal on Wednesday.

The NSW side, under Simon Katich, hardly broke a sweat in the all-Australian encounter, first muscling their way to 169 for seven and then unleashing their hungry bowlers who simply singed the Victorians, restricting them to 90 for nine.

Chasing 170, Victoria's pursuit looked doomed with three top order batsmen back in the hut inside three overs and all they could manage was 90 for nine in 20 overs with Matthew Wade's unbeaten 23 as the highest individual score.

Earlier, NSW Blues' openers David Warner (48) and Phil Hughes (35) added 62 runs inside seven overs as New South Wales posted 169 for seven, a total that could have been even healthier.

For NSW, Brett Lee began with a maiden over and then returned to cut short Aiden Blizzard's (5) stay in third over.

In between, off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, pressed early into action, struck with his third and fifth deliveries, removing both the scoreless openers - Rob Quiney and Brad Hodge - to set the cat among the Victorian pigeons.

Moises Henriques ended the lull of the next five overs by removing David Hussey (16) with his very first delivery and accounting for Victoria captain Cameron White (11) in his next over.

The all-rounder went on to add Clint McKay's scalp to finish with three for 11. At 39 for five, Victoria needed a miracle to win the match and the miracle did not occur.

Warner was in no mood to relent and the way he treated the Victorian bowlers, it was clear that none of them could remove him.

The swashbuckling left-hander returned run out in the seventh over, having dominated in the 62-run opening stand.

Warner's spectacular 25-ball 48 was bejewelled with seven fours and two sixes.

Hughes decided to continue the tempo and milked 13 runs off Jon Holland's first over before a Clint McKay slower delivery castled him.

Hughes needed 28 balls to score those 35 brisk runs that included four fours and a six.

Neither Daniel Smith (20) nor Katich (26) boast Warner's aggression but both scored quickly enough to haul the team past the 100-mark in 11 overs before both fell in a nine-ball span.

Andrew McDonald and Harwood stemmed the run flow with some disciplined bowling as NSW somewhat ran out of steam towards the end despite having the platform to go for the late charge that could have further swelled the tally.

Brief score
New South Wales: 169 for 7 (Warner 48, McKay 3-27)
Victoria: 90 for 9 (Henriques 3-11)
Result: NSW won by 79-runs
MOM: DA Warner (New South Wales)