CPL 2020: Match 30, Jamaica Tallawahs vs St Lucia Zouks- Preview, Live Streaming, Timings, Predicted XI, Stats, Pitch Report & more

The spinners will once again be the rulers given the slowness of the track in Trinidad.

Published - 06 Sept 2020, 17:56 IST | Updated - 06 Sept 2020, 17:56 IST

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The 30th match of the CPL 2020 is scheduled between the Jamaica Tallawahs and St Lucia Zouks, on 6th September, at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad. This encounter is the last in this year’s league stage and the four qualified teams will move to the next stage after this.

St Lucia Zouks are set to face the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the semi-final clash. The Zouks have had a start-stop tournament this year and they are seated at the third spot in the tally with 5 victories and 4 losses in the 9 league games they have played. However, in this game, they are coming after a loss against the unstoppable Trinbago Knight Riders, who had set them a target of 176 to win. Mark Deyal and Andre Fletcher made good contributions at the top, although all the middle-order batsmen wasted their starts as the Zouks ended 23 runs short of the target.

On the other hand, the Tallawahs- who locked their spot in the semifinals after sharing points with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in a match abandoned due to rain- are set to face the Trinbago Knight Riders in the semi-finals. With their loss against the Barbados Tridents in their last game, they have fixed the fourth spot on the table for themselves and will, therefore, face the No. 1 ranked Riders.

Jermaine Blackwood and Andre Russell’s through their knock of 74 off 59 and 54 off 28 respectively took take their team to a fighting total of 161, however, their bowling unit failed to leave a mark as Jonathon Carter, opponent skipper Jason Holder, and Mitchell Santner’s effort led the Tridents to chase the total with seven wickets in hand in 18.2 overs. The 30th match does not have a lot to offer given that the four teams have been decided and the semi-final spots are fixed, however, both the teams would want to proceed to the next stage with some fluency.

Pitch and conditions

The spinners will once again be the rulers given the slowness of the track in Trinidad. This being the second encounter, the pitch will be definitely slower as the first match would already be concluded before the start of this game. The teams need to be vigilant as a number of low scoring encounters have unfolded here in the last few days and one wicket has always led to another.

Playing combinations

St Lucia Zouks

The Zouks turned their batting order upside down in the last game as Kimani Melius was paired with Mark Deyal in the opening slot, whereas their regular opener Andre Fletcher appeared at Deyal’s position of No. 3. Roston Chase was sent in as low as No. 7 while Mohammad Nabi came in at Chase’s position of No. 4.

The strategy worked partially as Fletcher and Deyal entered into a solid partnership for the second wicket, however, the others failed to build upon the starts they got. Some changes in the batting order are expected, however, the team should largely remain the same. Scott Kuggeleijn was expensive in the last game but not more than Kesrick Williams, who was taken to a toss by his Caribbean counterpart Kieron Pollard. Though Williams did get a wicket, he ended up leaking 50 runs in his 4 overs.

Predicted XI- Kimani Melius, Mark Deyal, Andre Fletcher (WK), Roston Chase, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Leniko Boucher/Javelle Glenn, Daren Sammy (C), Scott Kuggeleijn, Kesrick Williams, Zahir Khan

Bench- Saad Bin Zafar, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Leniko Boucher/Javelle Glenn, Kavem Hodge, Chemar Holder

Jamaica Tallawahs

Glenn Phillips has been in great form throughout the tournament and has continued to contribute in every match. After his partner Chadwick Walton’s dismal run at the top, the opening duty was given to Nkumrah Bonner, who has not been too impressive either. Jermaine Blackwood, who made a substantial contribution through his 74-run knock in the last game, would want to carry his form.

Asif Ali, Rovman Powell, and Carlos Brathwaite will form a part of the middle-order for the Tallawahs whereas the spin twins Sandeep Lamichhane and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman will lead their spin department. A big reason to celebrate for the Tallawahs is Andre Russell finding his form back after he made a shockingly low start in the tournament.

Debutant Preston McSween went extremely expensive in the last game as did Oshane Thomas. Both the bowlers lacked discipline and looked completely off track with their line and lengths going nowhere. On top of that, they bowled quite a few extras that only made things difficult for the team.

Predicted XI- Glenn Phillips (WK), Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Rovman Powell (C), Andre Russell, Asif Ali, Carlos Brathwaite, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Preston McSween, Oshane Thomas

Bench: Fidel Edwards, Chadwick Walton, Veerasammy Permaul, Ramaal Lewis, Nicholas Kirton, Ryan Persaud