New South Wales Blues captain Simon Katich led from the front as his side handed the Bloemfontein-based Diamond Eagles a 53-run defeat in their Champions League opener in Delhi on Friday.

In a brisk innings off 41 balls, the left-hander top scored with 53, with NSW scoring 144/6 in their 20 overs.

Katich completed a fine match as he engineered two run-outs as his strong bowling line-up restricted their less experienced opponents to 91/9.

NSW won the toss and Katich had no hesitation in electing to bat first. NSW were circumspect at the start of the innings, but nevertheless lost opener Phil Jacques (1) early on.

Katich however, got things rolling with several boundaries all round the wicket as the Australian team started to show their quality.

Former Kolpak player Ryan McLaren was punished for some indifferent bowling and when David Warner thumped Shadley van Schalkwyk as well, Eagles skipper Boeta Dippenaar was left very short of bowling options.

Proteas off spinner Thandi Tshabalala however answered his skipper's call and bowled a fine spell.

Victor Mpitsang bowled an accurate line and further restricted the scoring further, backed nicely by a strong show in the field.

Katich reached his 50 with a six off Tshabalala but the momentum shifted somewhat when he was sent back almost immediately after Warner was dismissed for 23.

Although the Eagles were back in the game, the Australians still posted a respectable 144/6.

The South African side's response was quickly reduced to a whimper by NSW's far superior bowling attack though.

Australian internationals Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Nathan Hauritz picked up key wickets early on as the Eagles crumbled to 24/5 at one stage.

Despite some big blows by McLaren late on, the Eagles could not recover sufficiently and in the end, was thoroughly beaten.