*THE CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH 9- SAINT LUCIA KINGS VS TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS 2023 PREVIEW*
*THE BUILD UP:*
The Lucia Kings roar back and are placed second on the points table. They have a loss and a win to accompany their chances in the tournament and seem on track. Sean Williams and Roston Chase with over 50 runs are the leading run scorer’s of Saint Lucia Kings and with form backing them, they should look to utilise their hitting form and strength their teams chances with valuable runs.
The fact that the Lucia Kings have played 4 matches already and have another one at their feet has to be hectic and goes onto show the poor planning from the CPL committee. They have exhausted a few teams early on with the others not getting enough gametime to shed off their rustiness with the Knight Riders only having played one game which too, ended in a no result (marred by rain and the frustration that comes along with it).
The Knight Riders would be keen upon toppling the Saint Lucia Kings in order to register their maiden victory of the season. The Pollard led side with the big man flexing his muscles, should make it an even contest as the fans at St Kitts gear up to witness a game of competitiveness.
*ST LUCIA KINGS PROBABLE XI:*
Johnson Charles (wk), Faf du Plessis (c), Sadrack Descarte, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Roston Chase, Roshon Primus, Alzarri Joseph, Khary Pierre, Chris Sole, Jair McAllister
When you look at the batting order of the Saint Lucia, you see a balance. The right balance where Faf is leading from the top with his anchor style batting alongside the aggresive Johnson Charles and to follow that up is a strong middle order which comprises of two Zimbabwean clean strikers of the ball alongside a local guardian Roston Chase. It should be a tough task to breach past this middle order of utmost strength and valour where even if one individual stands up, the score could reach the stars directly. I expect Faf to have a comeback game where he turns up for the side and leads them to a victory.
Chris Sole and Alzarri Joseph, two very contrasting bowlers will make the cut to the final XI for the Lucia kings and should look to bowl tight lines on a surface where the teams generally like to chase and on a ground which has relatively shorter boundaries. Their quality and their class is what will be determined.
*TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS PROBABLE XI:*
Martin Guptill, Mark Deyal, Chadwick Walton (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Kadeem Alleyne
Watch out for the left arm spin of Hossain. Whenever he plays, he makes sure that the attention doesn’t go off him. His constant ability to create pressure with accurate dot ball producing ability is insane and it only makes sense why the team would bank upon him and even use him upfront to counter the opposition skipper in Faf, who tends to be a little uncomfortable facing spin in the initial few overs.
The trio of Narine-Pollard-Russell can fear the bones out of any opposition. They are pure match winners with their all round abilities and have the charm to turn the tables anytime. Despite them being inconsistent, they are some of the bets who you can never really rule out and the Knight Riders fans would love to make use of the opportunity and cheer for their superheroes as their hunt for the first win continues.
*MY PREDICTIONS:*
*FOR ST LUCIA KINGS:*
Highest run getter- Faf Duplisses/Sean Williams
Highest wicket taker- Chris Sole/Alzarri Joseph
*FOR KNIGHT RIDERS:*
Highest run getter- Nicholas Pooran/Kieron Pollard
Highest wicket taker- Sunil Narine/Akeal Hossain
*FOR THE GAME:*
Saint Lucia Kings to win