The inaugural season of the International League T20 gets underway on Friday afternoon when two of the IPL owned franchises meet in the ILT20 opener as the Dubai Capitals take on the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.
These two teams will be expected to go well in the tournament this term with their IPL ownership and it will be interesting to see which one lives up to the expectations and who comes out on top in the first game of a new competition.
Dubai Capitals
There is a continuity between the Dubai Capitals and their IPL ownership Delhi Capitals. Rovman Powell plays for the Delhi team and he will captain the Dubai version of the Capitals and will want to bring many of the same features of that team to this one. The Capitals usually come with plenty of heat in the Indian Premier League but that isn’t how they have been put together for this tournament. If there is a weakness to this side it could be with the ball.
There are some big names in this squad with the bat although they are a team who are probably going to get stronger the longer the competition goes on and their Sri Lanka players join up with the team. Joe Root, Ravi Bopara and Dan Lawrence provide plenty of experience and quality with the bat and there is plenty of lower order firepower and spin options for this team. You just wonder if they will stay in touch at the death though.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
There is also a continuity between the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise who own them. Sunil Narine skippers this UAE version of the franchise while Andre Russell has spent his IPL career in Kolkata. The Knight Riders have had more success in the Indian Premier League than the Delhi Capitals and it will be interesting to see if that history plays out on the field in the first game of this competition.
You get the feeling that the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will begin the tournament positively but you just wonder whether 10 matches in such a short space of time will catch out a squad which is the oldest in the tournament in terms of the key players. They might also get better when the Sri Lanka players arrive but there is a strong West Indies contingent to the Knight Riders and if a few of them fire then Abu Dhabi will be in good shape.
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Key Players
Joe Root isn’t a player who is a first choice on the franchise scene as he is seen as a man who lacks power but he has an IPL deal later in the year and he has the chance to remind everyone that he can adapt to this format as well. He has a point to prove for the Capitals.
We saw just what Andre Russell has to offer the franchise world once again in the Big Bash League prior to Christmas and he has another chance to remind everyone of his talents here. If he goes big with bat or ball Abu Dhabi will be tough to beat.
Betting
It is always hard to tell how a team are going to start a season let alone when it is the first year of a new tournament but the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders look a little bit better on paper than the Dubai Capitals with the big difference coming with the ball. To be fair to the Capitals they have a number of middle order players with power in their ranks but Abu Dhabi can match that with the likes of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Paul Stirling and Colin Ingram among others.
I just can’t get away from the fact that Dubai look light in the seam department and if they allow Abu Dhabi to get away from them up top then there might not be any pegging them back when you consider the confidence the likes of Narine, Russell and even Akeal Hosein bat with. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is as close as the odds suggest but I just think that extra experience that the Knight Riders have will get them over the line.
Tips
Back Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to beat Dubai Capitals for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Boylesports
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