Barbados Tridents takes on St Lucia Zouks in the second game of the opening day in the Caribbean Premier League 2020.
Team Preview
The defending champions started their campaign on a positive note, winning the first tie against St Kitts by 6 runs. Barbados had too many errors on opening day but a quality bowling performance helped them to clinch a tight finish. Losing six wickets on 79, Holder and Rashid Khan played cameos to take Tridents to above 150. The economical spell from Santner put pressure on Patriots, followed by a double strike from Rashid Khan. Barbados would try to carry the same form against St Lucia in the first Thursday tie of the Caribbean T20 League.
After getting Nabi in the auction, Zouks would fight to better their Caribbean performance this season. In the opening fixture, they were stunned by Jamaica Tallawahs. Roston Chase anchored the innings with vital 52 to help Zouks to post 158 but riding on Phillips and Asif Ali's blistering knocks, Jamaica chased it down with 5 wickets in hand. On a spinning track, Nabi could join Cornwall and Chase in the spin department. Najibullah Zadran’s role in the middle-order would be crucial in the absence of plenty of batsmen due to the travel restrictions. Barbados had a slight edge over St Lucia in both batting and bowling departments.
Pitch Report
Brian Lara Stadium will host the match between Barbados and St Lucia. It’s a surface that offers a good amount of help to spin. The track gets slower, later the match progresses as we had witnessed in the first four encounters. Weather would be clear on Thursday, expecting a full game. Any score above 150 would be a challenging task to chase down due to the sluggish behavior of the surface.
Possible Lineups
Barbados Tridents
Johnson Charles, Shai Hope (wk), Corey Anderson, Kyle Mayers, Jonathan Carter, Jason Holder (c), Mitchell Santner, Ashley Nurse, Raymon Reifer, Rashid Khan, Hayden Walsh
St Lucia Zouks
Mohammad Nabi, Daren Sammy (C), Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Roston Chase, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Scott Kuggeljin, Zahir Khan, Najibullah Zadran
Key Players
Barbados Tridents
Rashid Khan
In previous match: 26(20) & 27/2
Mitchell Santner
In previous match: 20 (18) & 18/2 in 4-overs
St Lucia Zouks
Mohammad Nabi
BBL 2019-20: M: 6, Runs: 150, Wickets: 5
Rahkeem Cornwall
Last season: M: 10, Runs: 254, Strike Rate: 190.97
