Somerset may have departed Bangalore with the unfortunate news of star player Marcus Trescothick returning home after the relapse of his depression-related illness, but there was to be no joy for Justin Langer and his men in Hyderabad either as they were virtually knocked out of the Champions League T20 on Friday.

The English side may have had fond memories of the Indira Gandhi International Stadium after they got the edge over against the Deccan Chargers on their last visit here. But Boeta Dippenaar and the Diamond Eagles ensured that their stay in India wouldn’t be much longer than that of Trescothick’s, posting a comfortable five-wicket victory against them.

The second-round encounter itself started in front of a near-empty stadium, where the cheerleaders danced and waved to imaginary spectators and the voices of the cricketers in the middle were as audible as that of the tireless DJ. The Eagles may have felt like they were playing against a fellow South African unit, considering the number of players of South African descent in the opposition line-up. But there were no niceties exchanged as Cornelius de Villiers blew away Somerset’s top-order within a space of two overs.

Tricky De Villiers

The 24-year-old fast bowler, who was instrumental in the Eagles’s win against Sussex in the eliminator over, trapped Craig Kieswetter lbw with his fourth ball, before dismissing Arul Suppiah with the very next. De Villiers then got rid of the dangerous Zander de Bruyn in his next over to leave Somerset reeling at 18 for three as he finished his first spell with figures of three for three in two overs. Captain Langer was then bowled by Thandi Tshabalala’s first delivery for 12 and things just got worse for the English side.

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