The St Lucia Kings are gearing up to welcome the Guyana Amazon Warriors for their first home match of the season. Both teams have had a fantastic start to this season's Caribbean Premier League, winning their opening two matches and currently holding the top spots on the league table. With strong power-hitting cores, the Kings and Warriors are evenly matched and ready to put on an electrifying show for the fans. The Warriors showcased their batting prowess by scoring an impressive 266 runs in their last match against the Patriots, while the Kings have also been in top form. It's set to be a thrilling encounter as the two top teams battle it out for the top spot in the league. The winner of this match will take sole possession of first place and establish themselves as the team to beat in this year's competition.
LAST FIVE MATCHES RESULTS
ST. LUCIA KINGS: W L L W W
GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS: L W W W W
ST. LUCIA KINGS likely XI
Batters: Faf du Plessis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Ackeem Auguste
Allrounders: David Wiese, Roston Chase, Khary Pierre
Wicketkeeper: Tim Seifert, Johnson Charles
Bowlers: Matthew Forde, Alzarri Joseph, Noor Ahmad
GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS likely XIBatters: Shimron Hetmyer
Allrounders: Dwaine Pretorious, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd
Wicketkeeper: Shai Hope, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azam Khan
Bowlers: Imran Tahir, Kevin Sinclair, Junior Sinclair, Gudakesh Motie
STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE (ST LUCIA KINGS)1. TIM SEIFERT
The powerful Kiwi wicketkeeper has scored 90 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 236.84. His finishing skills have been key for the Kings, with 64 off just 27 in their previous match.
TIM SEIFERT IN CPL 2024INNINGS - 2RUNS - 90AVERAGE – 90.00STRIKE RATE – 236.8450s/100s – 1/02. NOOR AHMADNoor Ahmad was player of the match in St Lucia’s opening win, with figures of 3/18. He also has a tremendous economy of 4.75 in these two matches. With his left-arm leg-spin, Noor is a difficult player to bat against in these conditions.
NOOR AHMAD IN CPL 2024INNINGS: 2WICKETS: 3STRIKE RATE: 16.00ECONOMY RATE: 4.75AVERAGE: 12.66Players who can make a difference (ST LUCIA KINGS)1. Bhanuka RajapaksaSri Lankan Bhanuka Rajapaksa has had a strong start to his CPL career with a dazzling 68*(35) in their victory against the Patriots.
2. David WieseThe Namibian all-rounder has plenty of experience in franchise cricket and his range of variations and accurate medium-pace bowling makes him a strong choice.
STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE (GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS) 1. SHIMRON HETMYER
Shimron Hetmyer bludgeoned a terrific 91(39) with 11 maximums in Warriors’ record-breaking innings against the Patriots. The brutally powerful southpaw is the hot pick for this contest.
SHIMRON HETMYER IN CPL 2024INNINGS: 2RUNS: 110AVERAGE: 55.00STRIKE RATE: 183.3350s/100s: 1/02. GUDAKESH MOTIELeft-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie took 3-wicket hauls in each of the Warriors’ first two matches and already has 6 wickets while remaining fairly economical in high-scoring situations.
GUDAKESH MOTIE IN CPL 2024INNINGS - 2WICKETS - 6STRIKE RATE – 8.00ECONOMY RATE – 7.37AVERAGE – 9.83Players who can make a difference (GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS)1. Rahmanullah GurbazThe Afghanistan opening batter put on a terrific showing at the top of the order with a showing of 69(37) in the previous match for Warriors.
2. Dwaine PretoriousDwaine Pretorious was the leading wicket-taker in CPL 2023 and has continued with strong performances so far in this tournament.
TEAMS HEAD TO HEAD RECORDMATCHESST LUCIA KINGS WONGUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS WONNO RESULT228131VENUE AND PITCH
Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet will be hosting this match. This is the first match of this year’s CPL taking place in St Lucia. Only two matches were completed at this venue in 2023, with several matches rained out. Teams prefer to chase at this venue, which offers enough to both team in either innings.
MATCH PREDICTIONBoth teams have started the tournament on a very strong note with positive results, and will be confident about their chances in this contest. Nevertheless, Warriors likely have a narrow edge despite home advantage of St Lucia, with the mammoth performance against the Patriots meaning they are in excellent shape. Since they are also on a 4-match winning streak, they are favourites by 65%.
FANTASY XIBatters: Shimron Hetmyer (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa
Wicketkeepers: Tim Seifert, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (vc), Shai Hope
All-rounders: Keemo Paul, Roston Chase, Dwaine Pretorious
Bowlers: Noor Ahmad, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph
Backup players:Batter: Faf du Plessis
Wicketkeeper: Johnson Charles
All-rounder: David Wiese
Bowler: Kevin Sinclair
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