TKR aiming to maintain unbeaten streak against Tallawahs

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 group stage is now over and it is time for the play-offs.
This season, we are going to have a traditional semi-final format which makes it pretty open. The fourth-placed team have just as much chance of winning the CPL title as the first-place team.
The first CPL semi-final is going to be played between the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Jamaica Tallawahs. These are two teams that have taken very different routes to the semi-finals. The Trinbago Knight Riders have won all 10 of their matches while the Jamaica Tallawahs have won just three.
The gulf between the two teams seems to be massive. Can the Tallawahs pull off one of the biggest upsets we have seen in the history of the CPL? Let’s try and analyse what can happen and look for some quality money-making opportunities along the way.
Trinbago Knight Riders v Jamaica Tallawahs, CPL 2020’s first semi-final, is going to be played at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad on September 8, 2020.

Trinbago Knight Riders
The Trinbago Knight Riders have been unstoppable in CPL 2020 so far and it is going to take something very special to stop them from winning. After trying out a few players in their previous matches, we expect to see the full-strength team turn out in the next one.
That means Sunil Narine at the top of the order, Lendl Simmons, Colin Munro, Darren Bravo, and Kieron Pollard to headline the batting line-up. Tim Siefert should find a place in the eleven and perhaps Sikandar Raza might be quite close to making the team as well.
The real difference between the Trinbago Knight Riders and the others has been the depth in their squad. One or more of the players from TKR is able to stand up and deliver in each match. The form of Kieron Pollard has also been something to behold.
Pollard is on a mission and is the most dangerous batsman in T20 cricket today.
On paper, there is no question that TKR are stronger than any other side in CPL T20 in terms of batting.
The bowling is going to be led by Narine, Ali Khan, Dwayne Bravo, and Pollard. We think Fawad Ahmed may get a chance to play ahead of Khary Pierre after his four-wicket haul but either way, TKR should have enough bowling to be able to keep the struggling Jamaica Tallawahs’ batting in check.

Jamaica Tallawahs
The Jamaica Tallawahs have lost their previous three completed matches and come into this match as firm underdogs. The Tallawahs lost nine wickets for just 46 runs as they crashed to a defeat against the Zouks in their most recent match.
The lack of consistency in the batting has been remarkable considering the amount of batting talent they have in their ranks. The focus on Andre Russell is nothing new. That follows him wherever in the world he plays and the recent talk about him being promoted up the order is something that we could see in this match.
The Jamaica Tallawahs will have to do something special and perhaps out of this world to be able to win this match. That is where Russell comes in. He can provide the sort of innings that can take the game away from the Knight Riders.
Glenn Phillips and Jermaine Blackwood appear to be the other batsmen who are in some sort of form. You are never too far away from a batting collapse when you are the Jamaica Tallawahs and this is why we would be afraid of backing them.
The bowling attack for the Tallawahs has not been very impressive either. Sandeep Lamichhane and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are the only two bowlers who have had some sort of impact in CPL 2020 for the Tallawahs. Carlos Brathwaite, Veerasammy Permaul, and even Fidel Edwards have been quite disappointing.
Nothing about this Tallawahs side screams winner and they will have to hope for something astonishing from one of their players.

TKR v JT toss prediction
The team who win the toss are going to want to field first. Rain could make it a DLS match and that is where the chasing team have a big advantage.

Pitch and conditions
A lot of rain is predicted during the first half of the day on matchday. That means we could have a DLS situation or even one where the match is washed out. There are no reserve days and if the rain does not allow the match to take place, TKR will go through.
The presence of Russell makes the Tallawahs more dangerous as the match gets shorter and so take a risk with your bet if you see the match being reduced by eight overs or more.
The pitch is going to be slow and helpful to the spinners. That has been the case for the entire CPL and is not going to change now.
There is just too much going the way of the Trinbago Knight Riders in this match. They have a stronger batting line-up, a superior bowling attack, and Kieron Pollard in the best form of his life. The Knight Riders can have a bad day and still beat the Jamaica Tallawahs easily.