The Guyana Amazon Warriors will face an uphill battle as they face the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the CPL 2018 Qualifier 1 at the Providence Stadium at 18:00h today.
With both teams having faced each other 15 times, the score line currently favours TKR as they lead by a 9-6 margin.
However, in their most recent clash on September 9, Warriors destroyed the Trinbago Knight Riders.
After being put into bat first, the Knight Riders scored 154/7 in their 20 overs and then the Warriors under the watchful eyes of Guyanese batting stars Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford ran down that total in the 15th over to win by six wickets and lock in the second position over the Jamaica Tallawahs.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
Batting
The Guyana Amazon Warriors will be oozing with confidence due to their emphatic win over the Riders in the final group game at this very venue, they also have the additional benefit of playing at their home ground and having won five of their last seven matches here is going to boost their confidence even more.
Shimron Hetmyer has shown fantastic form as he is currently second place in the table of leading run scorers with 368 runs in CPL 2018. He cracked a magnificent 59 in the previous game, he will definitely be the key in the batting and will be expected to continue where he left off.
While Sherfane Rutherford and Cameron Delport are coming off with respective scores of 45 and 37 in the reverse fixture against the Riders and the team will need them to bring that form into this match.
Bowling
The warriors will need to look to Imran Tahir as he is the third highest wicket taker bagging 15 wickets in ten matches in this season of the CPL 2018. They will also turn their attention to Sohail Tanveer who has claimed 10 wickets in his ten matches and the now fiery and revitalized Ryad Emrit who looked absolutely magnificent as he bagged 2-25 against the riders.
Trinbago Knight Riders
With the Riders at the top of the table sitting comfortably on 14 points they will aim to avenge their horrendous defeat and make a direct entry into the CPL 2018 Finals.
Batting
With Colin Munro leading the runs charts with five fifties and 470 runs to his name including a knock of 90 against the Warriors this season, he is definitely one to watch as he may have earned the name “Mr Consistent” due to his performances.
Meanwhile, Brendon McCullum has had three big hits so far and is on the ninth spot in CPL 2018 runs chart with 268 runs. Darren Bravo also scored 42 not out last time and the team will need all three to fire this time and come out blazing at the opposition bowlers.
Bowling
Fawad Ahmed has taken two wickets in each of the two games against the Warriors and also has been the best bowler this CPL with 17 wickets in 10 matches.
He is once again expected to pose the biggest threat to the Warriors. Ali Khan seems to be the next best option for the Knight Riders.
The pacer from USA has taken 14 wickets in 9 matches which include a three-wicket haul in the first encounter against the Warriors. He will pose a threat as he is known to swing the new ball early in the innings which was seen through the entire tournament outfoxing top class batsmen.
In the end, the team will also expect strong contributions from Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo and will need them to clinch some crucial wickets upfront.
Whichever way the pendulum swings, one thing’s for sure: the Providence National Stadium this evening will see exciting cricket, as both teams fight to the very last ball to ensure that they are the ones lifting the cup come Sunday evening.
However, with the inclement weather looking to put a damper on things, this publication was informed that in the event that the game is washed out, the team that finished higher in the league table will progress.
Tomorrow evening, the Jamaica Tallawahs will face off with the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at the same time and venue, after which the winner will take on the loser of Playoff one at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday, September 14 at 20:00h.
When it is all decided, the ultimate clash will go down at the Brian Lara Stadium from 17:00h on Sunday evening.
