ECB vs ABD Prediction, Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report and Injury Update – Emirates D20 Tournament 2020, Match 1

Match Details: 

The 1st match of the Emirates D20 tournament between ECB Blues and Abu Dhabi will be played at the ICC Cricket Academy, Dubai. The match is scheduled to start at 2:30 pm IST on December 6, 2020, and will be streamed live on FanCode.

Preview:

The D20 Tournament commences on 6th December 2020 in the UAE after the grand success of D10 that happened earlier this year amidst extraordinary circumstances in a complete bio bubble. The series opener itself features reigning champions ECB Blues taking on Abu Dhabi.

The 1st match is expected to begin on a high as the D10 tournament Champions ECB Blues will look to begin the T20 format of the tournament with a win. On the other hand, Abu Dhabi is a little bit on the weaker side after having an ordinary season earlier this year. ECB would be riding high on the confidence of their wicket-keeper batsman Vriitya Aravind, who had an amazing season scoring 3 fifties in 12 games and was the second-highest run-scorer in the D10 tournament. For Abu Dhabi, it will be Kai Smith who would look to take charge after his heroic innings of 102* for UAE U19 earlier this year vs Japan U19.

Weather Report:

The weather at the venue is expected to be sunny with around 30 degrees celsius temperature and only a 10% chance of rain. Expect some help for the bowlers as the humidity will be close to 65% and there will be a moderate breeze around as well.

Pitch Condition/Report: 

The pitch conditions during the recently concluded D10 tournament had been kind to the batsmen on most occasions with small targets easily chased down and big targets fairly out of reach for the teams batting second. Scores above 110 (in 10 overs) were chased down only 3 times out of the 10 fixtures that were played here.

Average first innings score

140 (out of the last 10 T20 matches played at the ICC Academy)

Record of chasing teams

Won-4, Lost-6, Tied-0

Injury and Availability News:

Will be added when there is an update

ECB vs ABD Probable Playing XIs:

ECB Blues

Zahoor Khan, Fahad Nawaz, Ansh Tandon, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Muhammad Farazuddin, Alishan Sharafu, Vriitya Aravind, Sanchit Sharma, Basil Hameed(C), Adhitya Shetty

Bench: Chundangapoyil Rizwan, Ateeq Ur Rehman, Waheed Ahmad, Junaid Siddique

Abu Dhabi

Mazhar Bashir, Osama Hassan Shah, Kai Smith, Matiullah Khan, Midhun Pattlikkadan(C), Ben Willgoss, Aaryan Madani, Navalesh Naidoo, Karthik Nagendran, Mudassir Hussain, Pasindu Wanniarachchi

Bench: Jishnu Balan, Paresh Katkar, Sahil Hariani, Surjith Manohardas

Top Picks:

Vriitya Aravind had a dream season scoring 358 runs in 12 games in the D10 tournament so he would be the go-to man for ECB Blues. The wicket-keeper batsman would like to begin his tournament with another vital contribution for his team.

Aryan Lakra is probably the most exciting cricketer everyone will be looking up to this season. The ECB bowler has picked up at least one wicket in his last 10 appearances across different tournaments.

Zahoor Khan will be another vital player for the ECB Blues considering his form in the recent times across the franchise tournaments he has played. The right-arm fast bowler also boasts of 27 wickets in 22 T20 international games.

Kai Smith for Abu Dhabi would be the one man the franchise will look up to. The 16-year-old wicket-keeper batsman played some destructive shots during his 102* vs Japan U19 in January this year helping UAE U19 win that match by a mammoth margin of 253 runs. 

Aaryan Madani will be a vital all-rounder for Abu Dhabi in this match considering his 21 wickets and 5 half-centuries in the 44 domestic games that he has played. However, in fantasy cricket, he is available as a pure batsman choice.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain Options – Vriitya Aravind, Kai Smith

Vice-Captain Options – Zahoor Khan, Aaryan Madani

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Vriitya Aravind(C), Kai Smith

Batters – Basil Hameed, Aaryan Madani(VC), Osama Hassan

All-Rounders – Sanchit Sharma, Aryan Lakra, MS Pattlikkadan

Bowlers – Zahoor Khan, Adhitya Shetty, Karthik Nagendran

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Vriitya Aravind, Kai Smith(C)

Batters – Basil Hameed, Aaryan Madani, Fahad Nawaz

All-Rounders – Pasindu Wanniarachchi, Aryan Lakra, MS Pattlikkadan

Expert Advice:

You can also play around with MS Pattlikkaddan between Captain & Vice-Captain choice considering the fact that he is an all-rounder and would like to lead from the front in the series opener

Probable Winners:

ECB Blues are expected to win this match. 

Note: Updated Fantasy teams and Playing XIs of every match will be provided in our Telegram channel if the information is available.

Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.