Men's CWC Challenge, League B, Oman 2019: Match 2, Italy vs Kenya: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Match Details:

The 2nd game of the 2019 Oman Men’s CWC Challenge League B will be played between Italy and Kenya at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground Oman Cricket (Ministry Turf 1).

The match starts at 9:30 AM local time (5:30 AM GMT) (11:00 PM IST).

Preview:

Kenya, who were once part of a World Cup semi-final, are now struggling to get a chance to qualify for the mega event. They will be hoping that the CWC Challenge brings them back the lost legacy. Kenya’s campaign in this tournament starts on Tuesday where they take on Italy in the first tournament of League B. On the other hand, Italy were slightly lucky to be shortlisted to feature in the CWC Challenge League. Associates ranked from 21 to 32 are considered into this CWC Challenge and divided as League A and League B. Italy were ranked No.32 when the rankings were considered.

Weather Condition/Report:

Al Amerat welcomed CWC Challenge with clear weather on Monday and the same is expected for the match between Italy and Kenya on Tuesday.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The Ministry Turf 1 venue hosted three One-Day matches between Oman and Scotland this year. Oman were rattled for just 24 in the first match and came back well to post a total of 250 in the following match. Scotland finished the series with a 300+ total. These scores indicate that the pitch here remains on the slower side generally and low totals could be recorded on fresh surfaces. On Monday, Jersey were successful in defending their total of 248 against Uganda.

Average first innings score: 206 (List A matches)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 1, Lost – 3

Injury and Availability:

(Will be added when there is an update)

Probable Playing XIs:

Italy:

Joy Perera (C), Jaspreet Singh, Nicholas Maiolo, Manpreet Singh (WK), Rehman Abdul, Madupa Fernando, Gareth Berg, Fida Hussain, Gian-Piero Meade, Michael Ross, Rakibul Hasan.

Bench – Zahid Cheema, Luis di Giglio, Nikolai Smith.

Kenya:

Dhiren Gondaria, Aman Gandhi, Irfan Karim, Shem Ngoche, Collins Obuya (C), Nehemiah Odhiambo, Lucas Oluoch, Rakep Patel, Rushab Patel, Lameck Onyango, Emmanuel Bundi.

Bench – Sachin Bhudia, Naman Patel, Jadhavji Bhimji.

Top Picks:

Gareth Berg is South African born and plays domestic cricket in England. The 38-year-old has close to an experience of 100 matches in the List A cricket. Nicholas Maiolo scored over 300 runs and took 10 wickets across 14 games he has played for Italy. Irfan Karim has scored two hundreds in 41 List A matches and also scored 7 fifties. Dhiren Gondaria has amassed 1928 runs in all forms for Kenya and also bagged 13 wickets.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain – Collins Obuya, Nicholas Maiolo, Gareth Berg, Irfan Karim.

Vice-Captain – Joy Perera, Manpreet Singh, Dhiren Gondaria, Shem Ngoche.

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Irfan Karim

Batters – Dhiren Gondaria, Joy Perera (VC), Rakep Patel

All-Rounders – Gareth Berg, Nicholas Maiolo, Shem Ngoche, Collins Obuya (C)

Bowlers – Jaspreet Singh, Rakibul Hasan, Nehemiah Odhiambo

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Manpreet Singh

Batters – Dhiren Gondaria (VC), Aman Gandhi, Joy Perera, Gian-Piero Meade

All-Rounders – Gareth Berg (C), Nicholas Maiolo, Collins Obuya

Bowlers – Lucas Oluoch, Lameck Onyango, Madupa Fernando

Expert Advice:

Only a maximum of five players can be picked across wicket-keepers and all-rounders categories. This meant only three all-rounders can be picked if two keepers are chosen and only one keeper can be selected if four all-rounders are picked. Hence, only two players among Irfan Karim, Shem Ngoche and Manpreet Singh can be taken into the fantasy team.

Probable Winners:

Kenya is expected to win this match by a comfortable margin.

*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.