GAW vs TKR: Who will draw first blood in the tournament’s first game?
HERO CPL IS HERE!!!
Without fans in attendance, and without participation of the most acclaimed T20 player in the world, how would you start a T20 tournament during a global pandemic? There is really only one solution: pit the two most-talked-about teams against each other.
Shimron Hetmyer would be a key component for the GAW
As such, when the Hero Caribbean Premier League 2020 tournament bowls off today at 10am, the Guyana Amazon Warriors will be coming up against the Trinbago Knight Riders in what would be a highly anticipated clash of the titans.
Jamaica’s Chris Gayle will be absent from the tournament this year (Gayle was bought by the St. Lucia Zouks before pulling out for personal reasons), but some of the Caribbean’s most seasoned T20 players will be featured in the two rival teams that would play the first match of the tournament today.
Both sides have sought to retain the majority of their 2019 teams, and they both boast a high number of local talents; the Warriors having 8 and the Knight Riders 11.
The Trinbago Knight Riders have a power-packed lineup with the likes of Captain Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo (who was ruled out of the 2019 tournament due to injury, but is back to full health), Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons. However, the Warriors are equipped with Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford and last Year’s highest run-scorer, Brandon King.
Kieron Pollard would want to exhibit exceptional leadership of his team
Looking at the international talents who will be going head-to-head, the Warriors’ department is boosted by the talents of Ross Taylor and Imran Tahir, while the Knight Riders sport Colin Munro, Pravin Tambe and Fawad Ahmed.
Undeniably, the teams have good contenders, but the result will almost always come down to how the players operate on game day.
Flashback to 2019, and the Warriors defeated the Knight Riders in both preliminary games in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. They also did the dame during the 2018 preliminary round. In fact, the only time that the Knight Riders have defeated the Warriors in their last 5 games against each other was in the final of the 2018 edition.
The characters to closely watch in today’s game will be Brandon King, who has an average of 55.25, Chandrapaul Hemraj (21.60), Kieron Pollard (52.50) and Lendl Simmons (35.50).
Over in the bowling department, there is Imran Tahir with an average of 6.00, Chandrapaul Hemraj (7.11), Ali Khan (7.90), and Khary Pierre (6.56). However, should the wicket take spin well, the likes of Chris Green, Pravin Tambe and Sunil Narine will expect great returns.
Also, considering the strong friendships, camaraderie and familiarity between these two teams, the first match of CPL 2020 will be a blockbuster event.
