CPL 2020: Match 1, Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Trinbago Knight Riders, Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

Brandon King was the leading run-scorer in CPL 2019 after which he also got a national call-up.

Published - 17 Aug 2020, 16:06 IST | Updated - 17 Aug 2020, 16:06 IST

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It’s time for the first major T20 tournament after the coronavirus pandemic halted cricket. The 2020 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is set to hit the centrestage from Tuesday, August 18. Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Trinbago Knight Riders will be locking horns in the opening match. The two teams are the most successful in the championship with the highest win percentages.

The match will be played at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba- a venue where the Knight Riders have beaten the Warriors both times. On head-to-head count, the Knights are leading their opponent by 10-9 after 19 matches. But last year, it was the Warriors, who won both the games in the round robin stage. It goes without saying that the match is expected to be a absolute humdinger.

Pitch and Conditions

The pitch has historically been a slow one with spin bowling coming into play. The pacers will also need to resort to slower deliveries. Winning the toss and batting first should be the way forward as the deck is expected to get slower and slower. There are chances of rain around 6 AM, but during game time, the heavens are likely to stay quiet with the temperature around 31 degrees Celsius.

Playing Combinations

Guyana Amazon Warriors

The Warriors will depend heavily on Brandon King, their leading run-scorer last time, at the top of the order. Hemraj can play the big shots as well. Shimron Hetmyer had a bit of a struggle last time and he will be looking to make amends. Pooran and Ross Taylor’s role will be critical as well.

Their batting has depth as there’s Rutherford, Paul and Green in the lower middle-order. Paul and Green will also play a major role with the ball in hand. However, the focus will be on Tahir, who has 32 wickets in the CPL from 21 games. The likes of Naveen and Shepherd will have to step up as well.

Predicted XI

Brandon King, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ross Taylor, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Chris Green (C), Romario Shepherd, Naveen-ul-Haq, Imran Tahir

Trinbago Knight Riders

Lendl Simmons was TKR’s leafing run-getter last time around and he will have a massive role to play. Sunil Narine is likely to open with him and will be expected to make use of the powerplay. Narine’s role with his off breaks will also hold significance. Munro and Darren Bravo are experienced as well.

It will be interesting to see how Tim Seifert steps up. Kieron Pollard remains to be the captain. Dwayne Bravo will be returning to the CPL after 2018 and the onus will be on him to do well. Fawad Ahmed returning to the Knights is expected to do a world of good to the popular CPL franchise.

Predicted XI

Lendl Simmons, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Tim Seifert (wk), Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard (C), Dwayne Bravo, Fawad Ahmed, Khary Pierre, Ali Khan, Anderson Phillip