CPL 2018 Match 16 : Barbados Tridents vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Preview and Predicted Playing XI

After a massive seven-wicket win in their previous game against St Lucia Stars, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will look to keep the momentum going when they take on Barbados Tridents in the sixteenth fixture of CPL 2018 at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday, August 25. Both the teams are coming on the back of a win in their last match and will be looking to bag a couple of points to move up the leaderboard.

Tridents and Patriots have faced each other on six occations in the CPL with the latter having emerged victorious on four. In their previous meeting last season, Patriots registered a comprehensive ten-wicket over Barbados Tridents at the Kensington Oval which also happens to be the venue for this clash. After electing to bowl first, the Patriots restricted the Tridents to a meagre 128/9 and then knocked off their target with 13 overs to spare.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots

Patriots have won two and lost as many matches out of the four they have played so far and are currently positioned fourth in the league standings with four points. They are coming into this game on the back of a comfortable seven-wicket victory over St Lucia Stars in their last match.

Batting : Chris Gayle has scored the most runs for St Kitts so far and he is always a big threat to the opposition. While Evin Lewis seems to be going through a lean phase, the team will be hoping that he returns to form against Barbados. Despite having some big names in their ranks, their batting is mostly dependent on Gayle which is sometimes a cause big problem for them.

Bowling : The Patriots would have been delighted with their bowling effort last time out as they shot out the Stars for just 69. Cottrell and Lamichhane are the two main weapons for the Patriots when it comes to bowling. Sheldon was pick of the lot in previous fixture with three wicket haul in just 2.3 overs. Sandeep and Mahmadullah shared two wickets each. The trio is expected to cause problems for Barbados as well.

Expected Playing XI : Chris Gayle (C), Evin Lewis, Devon Thomas, Brandon King, Tom Cooper, Anton Devcich, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mahmudullah, Ben Cutting, Sheldon Cottrell and Carlos Brathwaite.

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Barbados Tridents

Steve Smith has been a surprise package for Barbados Trident

Barbados Tridents are currently placed fifth on the points table with four points after winning two and losing one out of the three league games they have played so far. Tridents stole a two-run win against Jamaica Tallawahs on the back of an all-round performance by Steve Smith in Florida on Wednesday.

Batting : Smith smashed his first fifty of the CPL in the last match, scoring a 44-ball 63 against Jamaica Tallawahs. He was well supported by Shai Hope (43) who has scored the most runs for the side. Except them, Hashim Amla has made promising starts in both the games and he is expected to play a substantial knock this time around.

Bowling : In previous fixture, Tridents found an unlikely hero with the ball as Steve Smith took 2/19 to bring them back in the game. Raymon Reifer has been the pick of the lot with seven wickets in three matches, the Tridents will back this left-arm seamer to do well in the match. The team will also bank on the likes of Wahab Riaz and skipper Jason Holder to perform well.

Expected Playing XI : Jason Holder (C), Raymon Reifer, Wahab Riaz, Ashley Nurse, Mohammad Irfan, Dwayne Smith, Martin Guptill, Hashim Amla, Steven Smith, Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran.