Guyana Amazon Warriors holds the edge as they enter tonight’s Caribbean Premier League game against arch rival Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) at the National Stadium here. The host is on a successful run and will aim to maintain it for a fifth successive win.
It will be the second clash between the two teams in this year’s tournament which Guyana has dominated so far. In the first battle between the two teams, Guyana won by six wickets, compliments of a Chris Lynn knock coupled with quality bowling by Sohail Tanvir and Veerasammy Permaul.
Sunil Narine and Martin Guptill
The Warriors have brushed aside all opponents in their way except the Barbados Tridents and St. Lucia Zouks who they are yet to meet. And tonight’s prediction is certainly the same as the Warriors have in its advantage, home support, batsmen who know how to win matches, a pitch their opponents are failing to adapt on and a trio of spinners namely Adam Zampa, Permaul and Steven Jacobs, who continue to mesmerize batsmen.
Those three spinners along with duo pacers Sohail Tanvir and Rayad Emrit form a quintet attack that has been destructive so far.
The Warriors, yet to set a total, are doing a perfect job at chasing targets, standing at a 100 percent winning rate in their matches to date. If it is not their skipper Martin Guptill the responsibility falls on the shoulder of Dwayne Smith or Lynn or Jason Mohamed who have all played a significant/s innings to secure a win for the Warriors. Wicket Keeper batsman Anthony Bramble and Tanvir have also contributed with the bat.
The two time runners up is off to a great start and if they continue on this path then winning the title should not be an issue.
In contrast to the Warriors, current champions TKR are off to a horrible start with one win from four games home matches. Their batting which comprises the vast talent and experience of Brendon McCullum, Hashim Amla, Umar Akmal, Colin Munro and Dwayne Bravo, is yet to find its balance and must do so in this match if they want to win, knowing the nature of the pitch.
Sunil Narine leads their list of bowlers which includes left arm spinners Sulieman Benn and Nikita Miller along with Ronsford Beaton and Bravo. But this department has also let the Knight Riders down.
Besides their bowling and batting lapses, Darren Bravo’s absence due to international duties has added to the Knight Riders worries. However, wicket keeper batsman and former Warriors captain Denesh Ramdin will join the team. Ramdin was originally slated to replace Fidel Edwards for the St. Lucia Zouks’ first four games, but could not take up that assignment after picking up an injury in the final of the recent Tri-Series. Having now recovered, he is eligible once again to be a replacement player. He replaces Javon Searles who picked up an injury to his right shoulder and has been sidelined for the remainder of the tournament. Ramdin along with Ramnaresh Sarwan could be given the nudge to play due to their experience especially on the Providence track.
Whatever the case in terms of selection for the TKR, its batsmen must be able to bat on a slow wicket and endure for 20 overs of mostly spin bowling.
The match is scheduled to get underway at 19:00 hrs with Leslie Reifer Jr. and Peter Nero as the on field umpires while John Ward is the Third Umpire and Shannon Crawford the fourth official.
Guyana Amazon Warriors; Martin Guptill (captain), Sohail Tanvir, Dwayne Smith, Chris Lynn, RayadEmrit, Adam Zampa, Jason Mohammad, Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Orlando Peters, Assad Fudadin, Shimron Hetmyer, Anthony Bramble, Paul Wintz, Steven Jacobs, Steven Katwaroo, Muhammad Ahsan Ali Khan and Devendra Bishoo.
Trinbago Knight Riders: Dwayne Bravo (captain), Brendon McCullum, Denesh Ramdin, Sunil Narine, Hashim Amla, Umar Akmal, Kevon Cooper, Sulieman Benn, Colin Munro, Anton Devcich, Ronsford Beaton, Nikita Miller, William Perkins, Yannick Cariah, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Hamza Tariq, Anderson Phillip.
