The Desert Vipers are the last time to enter the International League T20 and they get their inaugural ILT20 campaign underway in the second game of the day on Sunday when they take on the Sharjah Warriors in Dubai.
The Warriors have already played one match which they were well beaten in so they will be looking to get up and running in terms of the wins for the competition. That should make this a competitive game.
Desert Vipers
You never truly know what you are going to see from a new side in a brand new competition but on paper the Desert Vipers look like they should be more than competitive. They are my outright pick and I took them because they look to have a decent balance to their team. We’ve seen some pretty ordinary cricket from sides in this tournament so the Vipers know they don’t need to be fantastic from the off but that will be their desire.
The Desert Vipers look a strong batting side and importantly three of their batters come in from the Big Bash League so they are competitive and up to speed which is often key to the early stages of these franchise tournaments. They have no shortage of options with the ball as well even without Wanindu Hasaranga so it would be something of a surprise if the Vipers don’t come out of the starting blocks strongly here.
Sharjah Warriors
The Sharjah Warriors were given a bit of a going over by the MI Emirates side on Saturday and now they have the age old problem of backing up a performance the following day. While this is becoming more of a thing in the franchise world it is still never easy to do, especially when you got thumped the day before. The positive is that they have at least played and got the competitive juices flowing which is something their opponents don’t have the luxury of.
Admittedly the MI Emirates side look to be a good one but the Warriors will be disappointed that their spinners couldn’t really offer anything to maintain the pressure on them and then when they batted the job was effectively done inside two overs when they lost two key players without scoring. That means that there should be more to come from the Warriors but we need to see it quickly else they will be playing catch up in the competition.
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
We’ve seen all around the world in the last 12 months that Alex Hales can take any attack he faces apart and if he takes a liking to the Sharjah Warriors one then he could get the Desert Vipers off to a bit of a flier.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the only top order player who got into his stride for the Sharjah Warriors on Saturday and while his teammates get themselves going the Afghan opener might need to keep on going well.
Betting
I said in the other game on Sunday that I don’t like backing teams who haven’t played a match against teams who have but as with that first game of the day I’m a little less unhappy about doing it at this time of year when there is so much franchise and domestic cricket on the go that only a select few won’t have had cricket of some kind to their name recently. That makes me take the Desert Vipers to win this one at 10/11.
The one thing I definitely don’t like doing is backing a team who have played and lost heavily the day before. These are pretty draining conditions in this part of the world so playing in successive days is going to be a tough ask. The Sharjah Warriors have plenty more in them I think it is fair to say but if that MI Emirates batting unit could get after them then you feel this Desert Vipers one will. If it comes down to a battle of the bowling attacks I would favour the Vipers there too so it is them for me.
Tips
Back Desert Vipers to beat Sharjah Warriors for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
