CPL 2018 Match 23 : Trinbago Knight Riders vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Preview and Predicted Playing XI

Trinbago Knight Riders will look to seal their playoff birth when they go up against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the 23rd game of the CPL 2018 at the Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on Saturday, September 1. Both teams have faced each other on nine occasions in the Caribbean Premier League with the Riders leading the scoreline 6-3.

In their most recent clash on August 11 this season, Patriots thrashed Knight Riders by 42 runs. Batting first the Patriots posted 203/7 then restricted Trinbago at 161/8.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots

Patriots have won three and lost as many matches out of the seven they have played so far in CPL 2018 and are currently placed fourth on the points table with seven points. After winning back-to-back matches against St Lucia Stars and Barbados Tridents respectively, the Patriots faced a four-wicket defeat to Guyana Amazon Warriors in their sixth fixture. While their previous fixture against St Lucia Stars was abandoned due to rain.

Batting: St Kitts batting relies heavily on the Universe boss Chris Gayle, who has been their only regular runscorer this year so far with respective scores of 86, 35, 24, 0 and 40 in his five outings and will once again be key in upcoming fixture against Lucia. While Devon Thomas was the pick of the lot with 58 runs in the reverse encounter against the Riders and will be expected to fire in this game as well.

Bowling: The Patriots bowling will depend mainly on Sheldon Cottrell, Ben Cutting and Carlos Brathwaite to deliver the goods with the ball. Cutting and Cottrell have both taken eight wickets each in six matches and these two will pose the biggest threat to the Stars

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

Trinbago Knight Riders

Trinbago Knight Riders: Hero CPL 2018

Riders have won four and lost two matches out of the six they have played so far in CPL 2018 and are currently placed third on the points table with eight points. They are coming into this game after back to back wins against Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Tridents.

Batting: Munro is currently third on the CPL 2018 runs charts and has hit three half-centuries this season. While McCullum scored 66 runs off 42 balls in the previous match against Barbados Tridents and it will be crucial from the team's perspective that he continues to bat well.

Bowling: Ali Khan and Fawad Ahmed with nine and eight wickets apiece in the tournament are the other two bowlers in the side who could cause a few problems for the Patriots. Dwayne Bravo is expected to play the role of a finisher down the order and he can swing the momentum in his team's favour with a tight spell at the back end of the innings

Expected Playing XI: Dwayne Bravo (C), Javon Searles, Ali Khan, Fawad Ahmed, Khary Pierre, Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Brendon McCullum, Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin.