The last big match of the regular phase of the Major League Cricket season takes place in Dallas on Sunday night when the Los Angeles Knight Riders battle it out with the MI New York for the final spot in the playoffs.
The equation is pretty simple here. If the Knight Riders win then they will be the team who will be in the playoffs. A win for New York will see their title defence continue into the postseason but it does have to be by enough to overturn a slight net run rate difference.
Los Angeles Knight Riders
A lot more was expected of the Los Angeles Knight Riders when we started out on this campaign but by hook or by crook they have got themselves into a position where they are in full control of their own destiny. They might not even need to win this match in order to progress and that is never a bad position to be in. They began their season with a win and won their latest game and assuming they make the final four they will need to win three more matches to get their hands on the title.
The Knight Riders’ bowling has been their biggest problem this season and even in their last match they weren’t fantastic with the ball but for once they got a decent innings out of someone in their top three and rode that all the way to the finish line. They will be hoping their batting becomes much more consistent now that we are in Dallas where the conditions are decent enough. If they do then there is enough in their line up to get the job done here.
MI New York
We have reached do or die time for the defending champions who have to win this match or else their title defence will come to a premature end. They have to win by a solid margin rather than a spectacular one and it might be that they will be suited by that because they can play with aggression which has to be when this team are at its best. There is a reason why they go into their final group game with just one win to their name though.
New York won their opening match of the season but they have lost all four of the five that have been completed since then and their batting just hasn’t fired. Only once this season have they scored more than 155 and their bowling has just failed to cope with the pressure as a result of that. Their last match was probably their most disappointing with the bat, not in terms of run output but the fact that they were on course to chase down an average 149 but fell short down the stretch.
Special Offer
Open a new Sporting Index account and bet £10 on Major League Cricket (min odds 1/2) to get £20 in free bets (2x£10 free bets) to use on any sports market! Click the image below to take advantage of this great offer! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly.
Key Players
You get the feeling that if Los Angeles Knight Riders are going to win this match or put this game beyond New York then they are going to need a decent showing from Andre Russell either with the bat or the ball, or preferably both.
If New York are going to get what they need out of this match then Rashid Khan will be a big player. His four overs should go some way to keeping the score down and then he might be needed for some big hits to either propel a score or get a total chased down quickly enough.
Betting
We’re in that stage of the tournament where the game state can assist us with our bets a touch and as such I think the way to go about this one is for MI New York to hit over 18.5 boundaries. They are either going to have to put up a score that they can defend with a bit in hand or chase one down with a little bit to spare so this attacking batting unit can all play with aggression and an element of freedom in that they are serving the cause well by doing so. I would imagine this match will be on a fresh pitch given that they used the same track for the fifth time on Saturday so that will help with the boundary hitting. Even if they’re not the two boundary counts on Saturday were 20 and 22 and New York are a much more attacking batting unit than Seattle who recorded 20. Given the tournament status I like over 18.5 boundaries from the champions here.
Moving over to the Los Angeles Knight Riders batting and it is Andre Russell that I like the look of here. He could easily go up the order to attempt to take the game away from New York here but even if he bats down the order there isn’t really anyone other than Rashid Khan in this New York side who is going to worry him. Russell hasn’t really delivered with the bat yet but it is unusual for him to leave a franchise competition without making his mark with the bat. Here would be an ideal time to do it at 9/1.
Tips
Back MI New York – Over 18.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Bet365
Back A.Russell Top Los Angeles Knight Riders Batter for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with Boylesports
Back him here:
