Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Source: Twitter)
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Desert Vipers are set to face off in Match no. 7 of the ongoing inaugural edition of International League T20 (ILT20) 2023 on Wednesday, January 18th at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. The match is scheduled to start at 7.30 PM (IST). Both teams will clash again in the space of two days in Match no. 9 on the 20th at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Knight Riders have had a bad start to their campaign as they have played two games so far and lost both of them. They lost their opening encounter against Dubai Capitals by 73 runs and also came second-best against Gulf Giants by 6 wickets. They are placed at the bottom of the table with no points and a terrible net run rate of -3.096. They would look to snatch their first win of the tournament in this fixture.
Meanwhile, the Vipers have featured only in one game, and they sealed victory in that match against Sharjah Warriors by 7 wickets. They are positioned third in the table with 2 points and a positive NRR of +1.630. They would hope to make it two out of two by getting over the line in this contest.
Before the match starts, let us look at the important stats, best player picks and the best predicted teams for the fantasy contests of the game.
Ground Stats: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
The pitch has been a good one for batting as twice sides batting first have crossed the 180-run mark in the three matches played at the venue so far. Chasing is always the preferred option in in Dubai over the years with twice teams winning the contest batting second already in this campaign.
T20I Numbers at the ground
Total Matches: 86
Matches won batting first: 40
Matches won batting second: 45
Tied: 1
Average score batting first: 146
Average score batting second: 128
Average runs per over: 7.35
Average runs per wicket: 21.50
VIP vs ABD, Match 7: Probable Playing XIs
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Team News
No major updates
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders Probable Playing XI
Colin Ingram ✈️, Paul Striling ✈️, Brandon King ✈️, Connor Esterhuizen ✈️, Sunil Narine ✈️ (c), Andre Russell ✈️, Akeal Hosein ✈️, Ravi Rampaul ✈️, Zawar Farid, Ali Khan ✈️, Matiullah Khan
Desert Vipers Team News
No major updates
Desert Vipers Probable Final 11
Rohan Mustafa, Alex Hales ✈️, Colin Munro ✈️(c), Sam Billings✈️ (wk), Sherfane Rutherford ✈️, Benny Howell ✈️, Tom Curran ✈️, Sheldon Cottrell ✈️, Tymal Mills ✈️, Ali Naseer, Gus Atkinson✈️
VIP vs ABD, Match 7: Top Five Picks
1.Colin Ingram (ABU): With two low scores of 1 and 7 and with his opening partner Paul Stirling gone for the national duties, veteran Colin Ingram looks due for a big score in this encounter.
2.Andre Russell (ABU): One cant overlook destructive West Indian Andre Russell in the T20 format as he is another ideal candidate for this game. After scoring a run-a-ball 12 in the opening match, Russell played a cameo of 26 off 12 in his second outing as he looks to get to his best.
3.Akeal Hosein (ABU): Spinner Akeal Hosein went for 40 runs in his 3.2 over spell in the last game but he is a quality spin bowler and has been economical for the national side in the last year or so.
4.Alex Hales (DES): Hard-hitting England opener Alex Hales smashed 83* off 52 to guide his side to a comfortable 7-wicket victory over Sharjah Warriors as he would be a good pick for this game as well.
5.Colin Munro (DES): The skipper of the Vipers side Colin Munro managed a two-ball duck in their opening match but the Kiwi southpaw cant be kept quiet for long as he is expected to be amongst the runs in this fixture.
VIP vs ABD, Match 7 - Must picks for the match
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
1.Paul Stirling - 74 runs in 2 matches
2.Andre Russell - 38 runs and 1 wicket in 2 matches
3. Sunil Narine - 3 wickets in 2 matches
Desert Vipers
1.Alex Hales - 83 runs in 1 match
2.Sam Billings - 49 runs in 1 match
VIP vs ABD, Match 7 - Risky Picks
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Brnadon King, Ali Khan
Desert Vipers: Rohan Mustafa, Tom Curran
ABU vs DES, Match 7 - Best Captain and Vice-Captain choices
1.Alex Hales (DES)
2.Paul Stirling (ABU)
3.Andre Russell (ABU)
VIP vs ABD, Match 7 - Team for Head-to-Head Contests
Wicketkeepers: Sam Billings, Connor Esterhuizen
Batters: Alex Hales, Paul Stirling, Colin Ingram
All-rounders: Sunil Narine, Zawar Farid, Andre Russell,
Bowlers: Tymal Mills, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell
Captain: Alex Hales
Vice-Captain: Andre Russell
ABD: 7 players; VIP: 4 players
VIP vs ABD, Match 7 - Team for Winner takes all Contests
Wicketkeepers: Sam Billings, Connor Esterhuizen
Batters: Alex Hales, Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Colin Ingram
All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine
Bowlers: Sheldon Cottrell, Tymal Mills, Akeal Hosein
Captain: Andre Russell
Vice-captain: Sunil Narine
VIP: 5 Players;ABD: 6 players
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