CPL 2018 Qualifier 1: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Trinbago Knight Riders, Preview and Predicted Playing XI

Both Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders will aim to book their berth for Caribbean Premier League final, when they face each other in the first qualifier of the CPL 2018 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Tuesday, September 11. Both teams have played 15 matches against each other with the Riders leading the scoreline 9-6.

In their most recent clash on September 9, Guyana Amazon Warriors got the better of Trinbago Knight Riders. After being put into bat first, the Knight Riders scored 154/7 in their 20 overs and then the Warriors ran down that total in the 15th over to win by six wickets.

Guyana Amazon Warriors

Guyana Amazon Warriors will be the more confident side going into this game due to their emphatic victory 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.

Batting: Shimron Hetmyer has shown fantastic form and he has been amongst the most consistent batsmen of the tournament. He scored 386 runs in CPL 2018 and also cracked 59 in the previous game against the Knight Riders.

He will once again be their key in the batting and the team will expect to continue from where he left off. While Sherfane Rutherford and Delport are coming off with respective scores of 45 and 37 in reverse fixture against the Riders and the team will need them to bring that form into this match.

Bowling: Imran Tahir is the second-highest wicket-taker of the season with 15 wickets in 10 matches. While Sohail Tanvir has taken ten wickets in CPL 2018 including five in the two matches against Trinbago and Both these players will be their go-to men against the Riders.

Except these two Chris Green and Ryad Merit have taken seven and six wickets respectively and the team will also be hoping for good support from them as well.

Expected Playing XI: Chris Green (C), Rayad Emrit, Devendra Bishoo, Imran Tahir, Luke Ronchi, Cameron Delport, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Mohammed, Sherfane Rutherford, Chadwick Walton and Sohail Tanvir.

Trinbago Knight Riders

Trinbago Knight Riders look to avoid last game mistakes and seal Final berth

The Knight Riders have fared slightly better this year and they still have the upper hand when it comes to head-to-head record between these two teams. Although they lost their final group fixtures against Warriors, they managed to finish at the top and now will aim to avenge their defeat from last time and make a direct entry to the CPL 2018 final.

Batting: Colin Munro is leading the runs charts with five fifties and 470 runs to his name comprising a knock of 90 against the Warriors this season. 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 opposition. 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 includes a three-wicket haul in the first encounter against the Warriors. 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.

Expected Playing XI: Dwayne Bravo (C), Sunil Narine, Kevon Cooper, Khary Pierre, Fawad Ahmed, Ali Khan, Colin Munro, Brendon McCullum, Colin Ingram, Denesh Ramdin and Darren Bravo.

Also see - CPL Most Runs