CPL 2018: Match 10, Match Prediction- Who will win the match, St Lucia Stars or Barbados Tridents?

Barbados Tridents earlier started their campaign of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a resounding victory against Guyana Amazon Warriors. Shai Hope and Raymon Reifer’s brilliance helped the team start their endeavour on a comprehensive note. Their upcoming contest is against St Lucia Stars, who have strained to find their feet in this year’s championship, in St Lucia.

The Stars, led by Kieron Pollard, slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat when Trinbago Knight Riders robbed them courtesy of Darren Bravo’s blitzkrieg. With six matches left, the team requires some herculean efforts to turn their fortunes around. However, they would be happy with their overall performance in the match, barring the last few overs when the TKR batsmen went berserk.

Pitch

The track at Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet was a bowler’s graveyard the other night and it won’t spring a surprise if the teams come up with another run-fest at the venue. The Knight Riders showed that with wickets in hand, a required rate of over 14 can also be achieved. Moreover, teams are likely to bowl first and have a crack at the target set by the opponents.

Team Combination

St Lucia Stars

The Stars have already made a lot of changes owing to their string of defeats. David Warner and Andre Fletcher showed some impressive form. Skipper Pollard and Rakheem Cornwall also came to the party. Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy also need to contribute. In the bowling department, they have impressed in phases but hasn’t been able to maintain consistency.

Predicted XI

Andre Fletcher (wk), David Warner, Rakheem Cornwall, Kieron Pollard (C), Lendl Simmons, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Darren Sammy,  Kavem Hodge, Mitchell McClenaghan, Qais Ahmed, Obed McCoy

Barbados Tridents

The Tridents will go unchanged in the next match. Dwayne Smith and Martin Guptill faltered in the first match and need to hit their straps. Shai Hope and Steve Smith are the stalwarts in the middle order. The bowling lineup consists of Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz, two of the lethal Pakistani bowlers. Reifer’s role will be crucial. Ashley Nurse and Imran Khan also need to step up.

Predicted XI

Dwayne Smith, Martin Guptill, Shai Hope, Steve Smith, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Jason Holder (C), Raymon Reifer, Imran Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Ashley Nurse

Probable top performers

Andre Fletcher- St Lucia Stars, Martin Guptill- Barbados Tridents

The prediction is for Barbados Tridents to win the match.