Trinbago Knight Riders and Barbados Tridents are the two most successful teams in the history of the Caribbean Premier League and whenever they play against each other, there is always a little bit of extra flavor added to the game.
While TKR has won the CPL trophy thrice, the Tridents have got their hands on the trophy twice and they are the reigning champions of the last year as well. So, it’s going to be one heck of an encounter.
Here are our fantasy cricket tips for this high profile clash –
Pitch Report
The ball has gripped into the surface in almost all the games that has been played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy and batting hasn’t been as easy as it generally happens to be in most of the T20 leagues around the world.
The lengths of the bowlers will be key on this surface. The medium pacers will have to make sure they bowl slightly back of a length and use their shoulders to hit the deck. Anything which is pitched full will only help the batsman.
Predicted playing XI of both teams
Trinbago Knight Riders
Lendl Simmons, Colin Munro, Tim Seifert, Kieron Pollard (C), Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Fawad Ahmed, Jayden Seales, Ali Khan and Khary Pierre
Barbados Tridents
Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Corey Anderson, Jonathan Carter, Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder (C), Mitchell Santner, Ashley Nurse, Raymon Reifer, Rashid Khan and Hayden Walsh
Top Picks
Johnson Charles has been given the license to go berserk at the top of the order and if he bats for even 50 or 60 balls of the Barbados innings, he is likely to make severe damage to the Knight Riders attack.
Jason Holder has promoted himself up the order in this CPL and has hit the ball really clean and long in the two games he has played so far at no. 5. The Barbados skipper might not have been able to score a fifty yet, but his timing suggests he is in really good nick.
Sunil Narine has been Knight Riders’ best player with both bat and ball so far in the tournament and it’s almost impossible to overlook him for a spot in the fantasy XI. Narine and Kieron Pollard are two of the straightforward picks.
Raymon Reifer has been put in the bowlers’ category in the fantasy, but he has been batting at no. 7 for Barbados and has been contributing fairly decently with the bat too. Reifer’s bowling suits the surface at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy as he bowls into the pitch and uses a lot of cutters and slower deliveries.
Ali Khan might not have lived up to the expectations in the first two games, but he is a very experienced T20 bowler and will be a valuable addition to the fantasy XI.
Captaincy Pick: Sunil Narine
Vice-captaincy pick: Jason Holder
Fantasy XI: Johnson Charles, Collin Munro, Darren Bravo, Corey Anderson, Jonathan Carter, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine (C), Jason Holder (VC), Ali Khan, Rashid Khan, Raymon Reifer
