We meander towards the conclusion of the regular season in the International League T20 with a double header on Saturday as the top two in the ILT20 standings open up the show when the Desert Vipers take on the Gulf Giants in Dubai.
These two teams have already qualified for the finals and the Vipers know that they will be involved in the Qualifier and have two chances of making the title match. The Giants will put themselves in the same situation with a win here.
Desert Vipers
Given that there is no home advantage in the final stages of this competition unlike say the Big Bash League, this is effectively a dead rubber for the Desert Vipers. It is a chance for them to get players who are out of form into some nick and also to give those who probably haven’t had as much time in the middle as they would have wanted the opportunity to get back into that environment and get a few balls out of the middle.
While it is a dead rubber for the Vipers, the likelihood is that this match will be repeated in the Qualifier next week so there is a chance for them to lay down something of a marker ahead of that contest, especially as they have already lost to the Giants this term. The concern over the Vipers heading into the finals is that their top three have suddenly come off their best form. It would be huge advantageous if they can find their best stuff in this match.
Gulf Giants
The Gulf Giants have looked impressive right from the moment that they entered this tournament and they have never really taken a dip. They have featured in six completed matches and have only lost one of them. That came against the MI Emirates when they ran into a bit of a storm which can happen against that team. All in all though, the Giants will be delighted with where they are and a win here will take some pressure off them in their final regular season match.
The Giants have probably possessed the best bowling attack in the competition throughout the season. They have wicket takers right through the team and have an attack which can maintain pressure from the first over to the last. You wouldn’t say that they have the flashiest batting unit in franchise cricket but they have players who know how to put big innings together and they, mixed in with a sprinkling of power hitters and pinch hitters, make the Giants hard to beat.
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Key Players
Sherfane Rutherford was in blistering form in the previous match against the Dubai Capitals and whether he is needed to rebuild an innings or propel a total to something big, he is one West Indian who is delivering in this tournament.
James Vince has just been named in the England ODI squad for the series against Bangladesh next month and he has another chance to showcase his talents and force his way into the thinking for a starting spot in that part of the world.
Betting
When these two met in the reverse meeting on this ground it was a really high scoring match where 195 wasn’t enough for the Desert Vipers to win but I don’t see a repeat of that happening here. These pitches in Dubai have really slowed right up and got hard to score on. In the last four matches here there has been one score over 160 and that came on Thursday when Sherfane Rutherford took a part-timer to the cleaners for five sixes in as many balls.
There won’t be no part-time bowlers on offer here so a run line of 320.5 feels a little on the high side. The other thing which has changed since that first meeting is the form of Alex Hales has completely bottomed out and he made 99 in that match so if he continues to look out of touch then 160 could be a mile off for the Vipers. These two hold strong claims for being the best bowling units in the competition and with dew not a factor at this time of day I fancy the under 320.5 in this one.
Tips
Back Under 320.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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