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CPL 2021 Match 1: GUY vs TKR Dream11 & Fan2Play Prediction Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report

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Last Updated on 4 weeks by Charbel Coorey

CPL 2021 Match 1: GUY vs TKR Dream11 & Fan2Play Prediction Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | GUY vs TKR 1st Match Dream11 Prediction Today| Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Trinbago Knight Riders 1st Match Key Players | St Kitts Pitch Report

Another day and another T20 franchise league will take center stage with the 9th edition of the much revered Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2021) set to kick off at St. Warner’s Park at Basseterre in St. Kitts.

The tournament will kickoff with defending champions and the most successful side in the history of the CPL – Trinbago Knight Riders – locking horns with Guyana Amazon Warriors on Thursday, August 26.

The Kieron Pollard-led Trinbago Knight Riders have been the most dominant side in CPL history, having won four of the last five titles. They will be looking to pick up from where that had left last season – a season that saw them romp home without a single defeat.

This year, Pollard’s men will be without the experienced Dwayne Bravo, who has jumped ship to St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots but the rest of their core remains intact. Denesh Ramdin and Tim Seifert are back in the mix as is their leading run-scorer in the competition in Colin Munro, who missed the back end of last season due to a finger injury.

Jayden Sealeas is coming off a hugely successful Test stint with the West Indies and, he, along with ‘death over specialist’ Isuru Udana would lead the seam-bowling attack along with Ali Khan while the veteran Sunil Narine, Akeal Hossein, Khary Pierre and Yasir Shah are the spin-bowling options.

Guyana Amazon Warriors, on the other hand, have been one of the most consistent sides in the CPL but they are still searching for their elusive title, having finished as runner-up in five different instances.

The Warriors have undergone changes in their personnel after their embarrassing defeat in the semi-final of the 2020 season where they were shot out for 55 on a turner. They will be led by Nicholas Pooran this season and once again the onus of leading their batting-unit will fall on the belligerent southpaw, Shimron Hetmyer and the experienced duo of Mohammed Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.

Opener Brandon King struggled on turning tracks last year but he should feel comfortable on the placid St. Kitts tracks at least during the initial stage of the competition. The spin department-led by the magnificent Imran Tahir while Afghanistan’s Naveen-ul-Haq will spearhead the pace department.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Trinbago Knight Riders

  • Colin Munro: Munro missed out at the back end of last season due to a finger injury and he will be eager to showcase his mettle this time around after having been dumped from the national side for the upcoming T20 WC. Munro is leading run-scorer among overseas batsmen, having racked up 1787 runs in 68 innings at an average of 39.84 and a strike rate of 137.38 with 15 50+ scores which also includes a three figure score.
  • Munro has an outstanding record against Guyana. He has slammed 482 runs in 13 matches against them at an average of 53.56 and strike rate of 137.71.
  • Lendl Simmons: Once again the onus of providing TKR with a blistering start will be on the shoulders of Simmons. The right-hander is the leading run-scorer in CPL history, having racked up 2436 runs in 80 innings at an average of 33.83 and a strike rate of 120.41 with 19 50+ scores. He is yet to fire against Guyana over the past two years (4 inns, 82 runs, avg. 20.50, SR 106), so TKR will be hoping for a turnaround today.
  • Kieron Pollard: The leader of the pack will once again be the MVP for the defending champions. Pollard was the most impactful player for TKR last year as he smashed 207 runs in 7 innings at an average of 51.75 and a blistering strike rate of 204.95. Against Guyana, Pollard’s 117 runs come at an average of 58.50 and strike rate of 153.95.
  • Darren Bravo: Bravo was the leading run-scorer for TKR last year. In nine innings, the experienced southpaw smashed 297 runs at an average of 59.40 but he would like to make improvements to his strike rate which was 115.11 last year albeit on sluggish tracks. Also, Bravo has the second-most runs in TKR-GUY matches, with 448 runs at 32.00.
  • Sunil Narine: Sunil Narine may not be the same bowler that he was a few years ago but he still remains a force to be reckoned with courtesy his 3D skills. Narine tonked 144 runs in 5 innings last season at a strike rate of 148.45 besides claiming 6 wickets at 15.16. He has taken 13 wickets in nine matches vs Guyana.
  • Akeal Hosein: The left-arm orthodox had a brilliant season last year as he claimed 10 wickets in 7 games at an average of 15 and an economy rate of 5.55. With international experience under his belt, he will be hoping to emulate his exploits from the last season.
  • Jayden Seales: Seales is coming off a hugely successful stint with the West Indies Test team and he will be spearheading the fast bowling unit of TKR. Last year, he claimed 8 wickets in 6 games at an average of 17.87.

Guyana Amazon Warriors

  • Nicholas Pooran: Pooran will be leading the Amazon Warriors this season and the onus will be on him to lead the batting-unit in the middle and death overs. Pooran showed good leadership skills in the absence of Kieron Pollard during the T20I series against Australia earlier this summer as he led the way with the bat with crucial knocks.
  • Pooran has scored a half-century vs TKR, but his other three innings against them have yielded just 22 runs. Key player.
  • Shimron Hetmyer: Along with Pooran, Hetmyer will lead the batting-unit in the middle overs. The blistering southpaw was Guyana Amazon Warriors’s leading scorer last year. In 11 innings, the southpaw accumulated 267 runs at an average of 33.37 and a strike rate of 125.94. Also, he has a solid record vs TKR: 8 inns, 270 runs, avg. 38.57, SR 129.19.
  • Brandon King: King had a poor season last year as he struggled to get going on turning tracks. With the pitches set to be placid during the initial stages of the competition at least, one can expect the swashbuckling opener to come into his own, but will need to improve on previous outings vs TKR (4 inns, 51 runs, avg. 12.75).
  • Shoaib Malik: Malik has been one of the veterans of the CPL, having scored 1707 runs at an average of 39.69 and a strike rate of 121.92. With the pitches likely to aid slow bowlers as the tournament wears on, his experience could come in handy in the middle overs.
  • Imran Tahir: Tahir was sensational last season as he spun a web around the opposition batsmen, claiming 15 wickets in 11 games at an average of 15.93 and an economy rate of 5.82. He will once again lead the bowling unit.
  • Naveen-ul-Haq: With 26 wickets in 14 games at an average of 17.58, Naveen-ul-Haq is leading the charts in the ongoing Vitality Blast in England. The Afghan seamer claimed 11 wicketslast season – second most after Imran Tahir – for Guyana Amazon Warriors and he will be looking to emulate his form in the upcoming season as well.

Stats and Facts

  • Both TKR and GUY have locked horns with each other on 21 instances in the CPL, out of which the Knight Riders have won 12 while Guyana have managed a victory on nine instances.
  • Both sides have played against each other only once at Warner Park and that encounter was won by Guyana Amazon Warriors.
  • Trinbago Knight Riders are on a 12-match winning streak, having swept the entire 2020 season. They have won four titles in the past five editions.
  • Guyana Amazon Warriors have ended up as runners-up in five different seasons. They finished as semi-finalists last year.

Possible Playing XI

Trinbago Knight Riders

Lendl Simmons and Tim Siefert should open the innings followed by their leading run-scorer from the last season- Darren Bravo.

Colin Munro is likely to slot-in the middle-order alongside skipper Kieron Pollard and stumper Denesh Ramdin. Isuru Udana will most likely be given the role of Dwayne Bravo while it be interesting to see if TKR go with an extra spin option in Yasir Shah or do they include seamer Ali Khan

TKR Possible Playing XI – Lendl Simmons, Tim Siefert, Darren Bravo, Colin Munro, Kieron Pollard [C], Denesh Ramdin [WK], Isuru Udana, Sunil Narine, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Ali Khan/Yasir Shah

Guyana Amazon Warriors

Brandon King and Chanderpual Hemraj will open the batting followed by the quartet of Mohammad Hafeez, skipper Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Shoaib Malik.

Imran Tahir will lead the spin department along with Kevin Sinclair while Naveen-ul-Haq will spearhead the pacers arena.

GUY Possible Playing XI – Brandon King, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Mohammad Hafeez, Nicholas Pooran [C & WK], Shoaib Malik, Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Odean Smith/Nial Smith, Naveen-ul-Haq, Imran Tahir

Warner’s Park, St Kitts Pitch Report and Weather Conditions

The average first Innings score in 10 T20Is at Warner Park has been 119 while the corresponding second innings score is 93.

Only twice have teams batting first have won at the venue in 10 T20Is as compared to 6 instances where the side bowling first has won.

As far as the weather is concerned, it is expected to be bright and sunny with temperatures hovering between 27-30 degree Celsius. Humidity is set to be around 68%. 

GUY vs TKR Dream11 & Fan2Play Prediction

Note: Teams below are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these teams in time after the final playing XIs have been announced.

CPL 2021 Match 1: GUY vs TKR Dream11 & Fan2Play Prediction Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | GUY vs TKR 1st Match Dream11 Prediction Today| Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Trinbago Knight Riders 1st Match Key Players | St Kitts Pitch Report
CPL 2021 Match 1: GUY vs TKR Fan2Play Prediction

GUY vs TKR Match Prediction

While T20 is a fickle game and anything can happen on a given day, Trinbago Knight Riders courtesy the number of match-winners in their line-up, a great balance and past form, will start as definite favorites.

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