ILT20 2023 Match 11: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs MI Emirates | Fantasy Tips and Teams

Nicholas Pooran for MI Emirates (Source: Twitter)

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and MI Emirates face off in Match no.11 of the inaugural International League (ILT20) on Saturday, January 21, 2023, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The match will take place at 19.30 PM (IST) and 18.00 PM (local time). Both sides will clash again later on in the tournament in Match no.26 on February 03 at the same venue.

The Knight Riders have had a horrendous and disastrous start to their campaign as they have played four matches and suffered defeats in all four of them. They lost their opening two games against Dubai Capitals and Gulf Giants by 73 runs and 6 wickets respectively. Abu Dhabi then lost back-to-back encounters against Desert Vipers by 7 wickets and a massive 111-run margin. With no points, they are at rock bottom on the table with a terrible net run rate of -.3509. (All scenarios till Match no.9)

Meanwhile, the Emirates have began their season positively as they have played two matches and won both of them.  Both of their victories came against the Sharjah Warriors by 49 runs and 6 wickets in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah respectively. With 4 points, they are placed third in the table with an NRR of +1.919. (All scenarios till Match no.9)

Before the game gets underway, let us look at the important stats, best player picks and the best predicted sides for the fantasy contests of the match.

Ground Stats: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

The surface in Abu Dhabi is anticipated to be good for batting. Three games have been played at the venue so far in the ongoing ILT20 with twice teams defending their respective targets winning the contest. On two occasions, teams crossed the 200-run mark while batting first.

Numbers at the ground (This Tournament)

Total Matches: 3

Matches won batting first: 2

Matches won batting second: 1

Average score batting first: 179

Average score batting second: 126

Average runs per over: 8.37

Average runs per wicket: 22.31

ABD vs EMI, Match 11: Probable Playing XIs

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Team News

No major updates

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Probable Playing XIs

Brandon King, Kennar Lewis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Colin Ingram, Charith Asalanka, Zawar Farid, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine (c), Akeal Hosein, Matiullah Khan/Ali Khan, Lahiru Kumara

MI Emirates Team News

No major updates

MI Emirates Probable Playing XIs

Will Smeed, Muhammad Waseem, Andre Fletcher, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard (c), Najibullah Zadran, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Zahoor Khan, Trent Boult, Imran Tahir

 ABD vs EMI, Match 11: Top Five Picks

1. Dhananjaya de Silva (ABD): Sri Lanka all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva has batted at a crucial no.3 spot in the two matches that he has played so far. With low scores of 5 and 12, Silva would be hoping to contribute in a big way for his side. 
2. Andre Russell (ABD): One just cant keep Andre Russell out of the reckoning especially in the T20 format. The explosive West Indian is the leading run-scorer for his team with 95 runs in 4 matches. With the Knight Riders struggling badly, Russell would look to save them with his brutal batting.
3. Will Smeed (EMI): Young England opener Will Smeed has scored just 31 runs so far. He should be an ideal pick for this fixture as the right-handed batter looks to make his mark in this tournament.
4. Nicholas Pooran (EMI): Destructive West Indian batter Nicholas Pooran is a dangerous player in this format as selecting him wont be a bad choice. He has scored 49 and 39* runs in the two games so far.
5. Trent Boult (EMI): Experienced New Zealand speedster Trent Boult is a quality performer in all the three formats of the game. The left arm pacer is leading the pace attack for MI as he is exptected to deliver in this contest.

ABD vs EMI, Match 11: Must picks for the match

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

1.Andre Russell - 95 runs and 3 wickets in 4 matches

2.Dhananjaya de Silva - 17 runs in 2 matches

MI Emirates

1.Nicholas Pooran - 88 runs in 2 matches

2.Will Smeed - 31 runs in 2 matches

3.Muhammad Waseem - 111 runs in 2 matches

ABD vs EMI, Match 11: Risky picks

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Colin Ingram, Charith Asalanka

MI Emirates:  Andre Fletcher, Kieron Pollard

ABD vs EMI, Match 11: Best Captain and Vice-captain choices

1.Andre Russell (ABU)

2.Nicholas Pooran (MI)

3.Will Smeed (MI)

ABD vs EMI, Match 11: Team for Head-to-Head Contests

Wicketkeepers: Nicholas Pooran

Batters: Brandon King, Will Smeed, Muhammad Waseem, Najibullah Zadran

All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Dhananjaya de Silva

Bowlers: Trent Boult, Akeal Hosein, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Captain: Andre Russell
Vice-Captain: Nicholas Pooran

ABU: 5 Players, MI: 6 Players

 ABD vs EMI, Match 11: Team for Winner take all Contests

Wicketkeeper: Nicholas Pooran

Batters: Colin Ingram, Charith Asalanka, Andre Fletcher, Najibullah Zadran

All-rounders: Kieron Pollard, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dwayne Bravo

Bowlers: Akeal Hosein, Lahiru Kumara, Imran Tahir

Captain: Nicholas Pooran
Vice-captain: Dhananjaya de Silva

ABU: 5 Players, MI: 6 Players

Also Read: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs MI Emirates: Preview, Prediction and Fantasy Tips