There is one match in the International League T20 on Sunday and it comes from Sharjah as the Desert Vipers and the MI Emirates sides continue their ILT20 campaign in what should be a decent game of cricket.
The Vipers go into the match on top of the table and will secure their spot in the finals with a win here. MI Emirates start the day in third and if they can win this match they will close in on the top two in the standings.
Desert Vipers
The Desert Vipers have arguably been the best team this season. They have won five of the six matches that they have played with the one loss coming in a good game of cricket against the Gulf Giants. While the Vipers lucked out when they didn’t have any matches scheduled when the rain fell in this part of the world last week, they haven’t had it quite so good for this match as they have to perform a day after playing, which as I repeatedly comment on is never easy.
The Vipers have a daunting looking batting unit and even when the top order struggles like it did on Saturday, the middle order are good enough to bail them out. The big thing about them though is they have a bowling attack which works in all conditions and which is good enough and experienced enough to understand the conditions and adjust their deliveries accordingly. It might be that the big test for the Vipers here is to maintain their intensity.
MI Emirates
The MI Emirates were the favourites to win the tournament heading into it but three wins from the five matches they have completed isn’t really a record which lives up to that billing. They still sit in third place though so if they can click into a groove here then there is no reason why they can’t challenge at the business end of this competition over the next couple of weeks. The one big positive for them is that they have a lot of experienced players who know how to win these competitions.
The flip side to that experience is that they can carry one or two players, especially in the field, and also running between the wickets and in a format where every run can be crucial that isn’t good. The Emirates side have a powerful batting unit which doesn’t lack for depth and they have a number of all-rounders who provide a bowling option so if a couple of players come off with the bat and the ball they are going to be dangerous.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THE ILT20 LEAGUE! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Key Players
Colin Munro probably hasn’t got the recognition he might otherwise have done with this Desert Vipers side purely because of the form of Alex Hales but when they needed their captain to step up on Saturday he was able to.
This ground certainly isn’t big enough to contain Kieron Pollard so if he can get himself in and get the pace of the pitch then he could do some serious damage come the latter part of the innings. He has already feasted on this Vipers attack once this season.
Betting
There hasn’t been much action in Sharjah in this tournament just yet but the MI Emirates have played a game here so they should know all about the conditions. That might help them here, as might the fact that the Desert Vipers played on Saturday but I don’t really want to bet on the match outcome here because we know this ground can be so hard to defend and there are those variables that are in play as well.
When the MI Emirates played here earlier in the competition, they were only chasing 147 and still plonked seven sixes over the ropes so that is an angle in, particularly with the big hitting resources that are at the disposal of the Desert Vipers as well. We’ve got some of the most powerful batters in world cricket on show here and certainly no shortage of players who like to hit the ball over the ropes. Given we’ve not seen much cricket here the wickets should still be playing well enough for a dozen sixes to be hit between these two. There were 16 in the reverse meeting in Abu Dhabi so I like over 12.5 sixes here.
Tips
Back Over 12.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with BetVictor
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
