CPL 2020: Match 7, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots vs St Lucia Zouks, Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

The 7th match of CPL is scheduled to be played at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad between St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and St Lucia Zouks on Saturday, 22nd August. The Patriots have had a rough ride in the season thus far as they have lost two encounters in a row and will be desperately eyeing to open their account before it becomes too late. While the Barbados Tridents defeated them by 6 runs in a close clash, the Guyana Amazon Warriors handed them a defeat by 3 wickets courtesy their underwhelming performance with the bat.

The Darren Sammy-led St. Lucia Zouks, on the other hand, made a rusty start against Jamaica Tallawahs and lost to them in their first match by 5 wickets. However, they completed a stiff chase in a rain-curtailed encounter against Barbados Tridents to gain two crucial points and will come to this game with winning momentum.

The Zouks bowled well to restrict the Tridents to 131/7 in 18.1 overs. The revised target for them as per DLS was 47 in 5 overs that they chased easily with 5 balls to spare. Against the Patriots, they will be keen to continue with their winning run.

Pitch and playing conditions

The pandemic has forced the organizers to restrict the movement to a minimum possible extent and therefore frequent travel was always off the table. This has led to the use of the same venue for an extended spell and use the same track for matches in a row.

It is therefore not surprising to see a bit of wear and tear on the pitch that is eventually assisting the spinners and the tracks have become slower over time. The expectation from the pitch is not different and it will continue to assist the turners heavily. However, the forecast suggests some showers and the new ball might do a bit for the fast bowlers.

Playing combinations

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots

Chris Lynn and Evin Lewis will fulfill their duties as the openers. Neither of them has been able to provide a flying start that their team would have expected from them and they should ensure to contribute this time.

Ben Dunk, Denesh Ramdin, and Nick Kelly will follow. The cold performances of the middle-order must be a cause of concern for them as apart from Dunk, none have given any substantial performance.

Skipper Rayad Emrit has been in red-hot form and will lead the bowling attack alongside Dominic Drakes. Jon-Russ Jaggesar went wicket-less in the last match, however, he was disciplined and tidy in his spell. Sheldon Cottrell and Ish Sodhi should be the other bowling options.

Predicted XI

Chris Lynn, Evin Lewis, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Nicholas Kelly, Ben Dunk, Jahman Hamiton, Rayad Emrit (C), Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Dominic Drakes/Sohail Tanvir, Ish Sodhi, Sheldon Cottrell.

Bench: Joshua Da Silva, Dominic Drakes/Sohail Tanvir, Alzarri Joseph, Colin Archibald, Imran Khan.

St Lucia Zouks

Both Rahkeem Cornwall and Andre Fletcher played a decent hand in the short chase in the last match and will open the innings. The young Mark Deyal, who played a transient cameo in the first but did not bat in the last match, should come in at 3.

Roston Chase, who did not bat but was phenomenal with the ball against Tridents, Najibullah Zadran, and skipper Darren Sammy will once again be seen performing their duties in the middle-order.

Scott Kuggeleijn made a good comeback after an expensive first match. Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy, and Saad-bin-Zafar should be the other bowling options for the Zouks.

Predicted Playing XI:

Andre Fletcher (wk), Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Daren Sammy (c), Scott Kuggeleijn, Obed McCoy, Kesrick Williams, Saad Bin Zafar.

Bench: Javelle Glen, Kavem Hodge, Chemar Holder, Leniko Boucher, Kimani Melius, Zahir Khan.

Probable Top Performers

Rayad Emrit – St Kitts and Nevis Patriots | Roston Chase – St. Lucia Zouks

Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 7:30 PM (IST), 10:00 AM (Local).

TV– Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2 HD, and Star Sports 1 HD Hindi.

Live Streaming– The match can be streamed online at Hotstar and Fancode.

The prediction is for St Lucia Zouks to win the match