WG vs AL Match Preview
The World Giants have a well-balanced side and most of the team’s players have contributed to their success. The Giants will bank on Hashim Amla and Chris Gayle to give them a solid start here. Amla, who was playing his first match of the season during the Giants’ previous outing, looked in great touch as he scored a half-century.
The Giants have a solid middle order consisting of the likes of Shane Watson, Jacques Kallis, and Morne van Wyk, while the presence of all-rounders Kevin O’Brien, Tino Best, and Samit Patel adds depth to their batting. Chris Mpofu and Tino Best bowled superb spells in the team’s last league match, picking up 3 wickets each to ensure that the Giants finished at the top of the table.
After opting to bat first in their previous match, the Lions got a good start from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga, who put up an opening stand of 83 runs in under 9 overs to set the stage for a big total. Tharanga went on to score his second half-century of the season and is now the second-highest run-getter behind Gautam Gambhir.
In addition to Tharanga, Dilshan, and Misbah ul-Haq are in good form too and the Lions will be banking on them to play yet another good inning here. However, the middle order hasn’t been in the best of form this season and their performance has been a hit or a miss.
The likes of Shahid Afridi, Asghar Afghan, and Thisara Perera haven’t put up a big score despite getting some good starts. Sohail Tanvir has been superb with the new ball as well as in the death and is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 7 wickets.
Weather Report
The weather will be clear with a temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
As the West End Stadium has hosted 7 matches in the past 9 days, the surface has developed some rough spots which can be exploited by the slower bowlers. The quicker bowlers too can expect some movement off the seam, while the batsmen will enjoy the consistent bounce. In short, the pitch is well-balanced, providing help to batsmen as well as the bowlers.
Notable stats
Upul Tharanga’s Consistent Performance
Over the years, Upul Tharanga has been a reliable performer with the bat for Sri Lanka in white-ball cricket. He has adapted well to the T20 format too, where he has scored 3516 runs at an average of 28.12 and a strike rate of 126.15.
Team News
There are no updates regarding injuries from either side.
WG vs AL Probable 11
WG Playing 11
- Shane Watson (C)
- Hashim Amla
- Morne van Wyk (Wk)
- Jacques Kallis
- Kevin O’Brien
- Samit Patel
- Brett Lee
- Chris Mpofu
- Tino Best
- Monty Panesar
- Chris Gayle
AL Playing 11
- Upul Tharanga (Wk)
- Tillakaratne Dilshan
- Misbah ul-Haq
- Shahid Afridi (C)
- Mohammad Hafeez
- Asghar Afghan
- Abdul Razzaq
- Abdur Razzak
- Thisara Perera
- Sohail Tanvir
- Paras Khadka
Dream11 Prediction
We are backing the World Giants to win here. They have been in good form this season and have lost just 1 of the 4 matches played so far. Historically, they have enjoyed the upper hand against the Lions which should give them some confidence going into this contest.
The Giants have some of the most versatile players in white-ball cricket, many of whom are equally effective with the bat as well as the ball. Given such a strong team, the Giants should win here.
Top Picks
Sohail Tanvir: Sohail Tanvir has bowled well this season and has picked up 7 wickets so far and has a bowling strike rate of 12.80. Given the fact that the surface at Doha is good to bat on, his economy rate is quite good too, at 7.60 runs per over.
Chris Gayle: Chris Gayle is perhaps the most devastating batsman when it comes to the T20 format. He has scored a total of 14562 runs in the shortest format of the game at a mind-boggling strike rate of 144.75.
Chris Mpofu: Chris Mpofu has been bowling well this season and has picked up 6 wickets in 3 matches. His spell of 3 wickets for 16 runs was instrumental in helping the Giants claim the top spot on the points table.
WG vs AL Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: U Tharanga
Batters: S Watson, C Gayle (VC), Misbah ul Haq
All-rounders: J Kallis, S Afridi, M Hafeez, T Dilshan (C)
Bowlers: T Best, C Mpofu, S Tanvir
