The ILT20 season continues on Tuesday with just the one match in the tournament as we see the Desert Vipers and the former champions Gulf Giants in action for the second time in this campaign in Dubai.
These two started their season in different fashion with the Vipers arguably the most convincing winners of their opening game while the Giants were edged out on the final ball in the only match that they have played to date.
Desert Vipers
Having lost out to the Gulf Giants in the final of the inaugural season, there is probably no shortage of motivation for the Desert Vipers to deliver the goods here. They certainly head into the match in decent enough touch after a really good win in their opening game and another win here would have them set up nicely to bounce back from a campaign in which they completely fluffed their lines last term. This squad should be making the postseason at the very least.
The Vipers will be delighted with their showing in the opening game. There were things that they can improve on, particularly the bowling at the end of the innings, although to be fair to them Andre Russell can take any team apart when the platform is laid for him. Where they will be delighted is that they made a competitive run chase a formality with a couple of key players getting going with the bat from the get go. That bodes well.
Gulf Giants
I would imagine the Gulf Giants would be disappointed with their defeat in the opening game of the tournament, not necessarily because of their performance but deep into the match they had things if not in complete control, certainly in a position from where they could have won if they had closed things out like they usually can. That wasn’t the case though and in the end they got done on the final ball of the match, so the inaugural winners will be looking to bounce back here.
The positive for the Giants in that loss to the Sharjah Warriorz is that their batting put up 174 even though James Vince, arguably their most important batter, could only make single figures. He’ll improve the longer he is in the competition once he adjusts to the different conditions from the Big Bash. The Giants will want an improvement with the ball and if that comes naturally after a run out then there is enough in this side to be more than competitive once again.
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Key Players
Dan Lawrence stole the show for the Desert Vipers in the opening game with a really good innings, one which was even better when you consider he was playing in the Big Bash recently and had to make an immediate adjustment to conditions.
Shimron Hetmyer was given the job of finishing the innings off for the Gulf Giants in the first game but he couldn’t quite see things through to the end. In a similar position here he will want to carry his side to a bigger score.
Betting
The Desert Vipers were my pick to win this tournament before a ball was hit and there is nothing to suggest I need to change my thinking after the opening set of games. The good thing for the Vipers is that they were able to win without Wanindu Hasaranga and he is expected to arrive around the time of this match so he could even be involved here. There was enough to suggest that the Vipers can win this match even if he isn’t around though.
Gulf Giants looked a batter light in that opening game and I suspect that is because Jamie Smith is missing on international duty. On the face of it there isn’t a top class batter in waiting and that would be a concern for me. Their attack will improve once Chris Jordan arrives but that isn’t going to be for a while and in the here and now the Vipers look the stronger side on paper. They also have the confidence of winning their opening game and can double up on their wins here.
Tips
Back Desert Vipers to beat Gulf Giants for a 3/10 stake at 1.75 with Betway
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