This article will talk about the probable XIs for both teams and continue with the Dream11 predictions and the winning fantasy team for the 2nd Semi-Final of the CPL 2021 between Guyana Amazon Warriors and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots that is scheduled to take place on the 14th of September 2021.
Guyana Amazon Warriors will want to reach the CPL final for a record 6th time on Tuesday when they take on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots which will be led by Dwyane Bravo. In the 2 times, these sides met in the league stages of this CPL, it was the Patriots who emerged victorious on both occasions.
Warriors continued their winning run in their last league beating the Jamaica Tallawahs by 14 runs which ensured their top-4 finish. Batting first, they made 142/7 largely thanks to a stunning batting display from Romario Shepard who thus far has been great with the ball for them. But on the night when it mattered, he made 72 from 31 despite the fact that none of the top-order got off to even decent starts. From 75/7, he took the team to 142. This was enough as Shepard and Odean Smith took 3 wickets to keep the Tallawahs 14 short of the target.
The Nevis Patriots also scored at a similar range in their final league clash against the Knight Riders. Batting first, the Bravo-led side scored 147/7 with Joshua Da Silva scored a half-century while the skipper Bravo and Rutherford made 25 each. The rest of the batters didn’t make the scorecard tick which kept the target for TKR less than 150. This score proved not to be enough as, despite their bowlers’ best efforts, a Kieron Pollard special and a Udana cameo late at the end won TKR the game with an over to spare.
Match Details
Venue: Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts
Pitch and Weather: Likely to be a typical Caribbean pitch that will offer more to the bowlers so far and the batters have been able to score after getting an eye in. There were several games that were in the range of 140-160 and we can see the same in this game as well. Sunny weather is expected on the match-day and the temperature will be around 28C.
Date & Time: September 14, 14.30 PM Local time, 12.00 AM IST(September 15)
Probable Playing XIs
The Guyana Amazon Warriors had a scratchy start initially before they picked up momentum and won their last three league games to confirm their semi-final spot. Their batting unit though having several great individual performances has failed to perform as a team till now. Their bowling has been exceptional with the likes of Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Imran Tahir being in great form with the ball.
St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots on the other hand lost their way in the later phase of the tournament after a brilliant start. The injury concerns to skipper Dwayne Bravo and Sherfane Rutherford didn’t help them either. They will hope both of them are at their 100% for this semi-final game. Evin Lewis, Sherfane Rutherford has been in great form in the league stages and would like them to perform in the Semi-Final.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
Brandon King, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Simron Hetmyer, Shoaib Malik, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Anthony Bramble/Ashmead Nedd, Naveen-ul-Haq, Imran Tahir
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots
Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Devon Thomas, Sherfane Rutherford, Ravi Bopara, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Fabian Allen, Dominic Drakes, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Sheldon Cottrell, Naseem Shah
Match Prediction
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots have won 2 of their earlier clashes against the Amazon Warriors earlier in this edition but seem to be out of form now. While the Warriors are on a back of 3 game winning streak. So we can expect an exciting contest when these sides face off for the 3rd time and there are no clear favorites.
Fantasy Tips
Batsmen: Shimron Hetmyer had a great beginning to this campaign but went through a slump having made just 173 runs in 10 games striking at 108.8. But he is a quality player who can make it big. Evin Lewis has been in top form and scored a century in his last game. He is the 2nd highest run-scorer in CPL 2021 with 343 runs in 9 games. Sherfane Rutherford has performed well for the Patriots too. He has 226 runs in 8 innings. Brandon King can be 4th batsman who can be picked given the fact he bats at top-order.
Wicket-Keeper: Nicholas Pooran is an obvious pick in any fantasy team if it is a T20 match. He has scored 228 runs in 8 innings which includes a breathtaking 39-ball 75 in the last game.
All-rounders: Dwayne Bravo made a comeback from a groin injury last game. While he scored 25 off 13, he didn’t even bowl a single over. Bravo had 8 wickets in 8 games. Odean Smith has been exceptional for them in CPL 2021. He has taken 13 wickets in 9 games and scored more than 100 runs with the bat. The same applies for Dominic Drakes, he has also taken 13 wickets while making useful contributions down the order with the bat.
Bowlers: Imran Tahir has 11 wickets in 9 games and is still one of the best T20 bowlers going around in the world. Romario Shepard took Jamaica out of the game scoring a stunning 72 off 31 balls in the last game but with the ball in hand, he has scalped 18 wickets in this CPL, which makes him the joint highest wicket-taker. Finally, the ever bankable Fawad Ahmed can be picked as the last player in the team.
Captaincy Choices
Fantasy Team: Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis(C), Brandon King, Sherfane Rutherford, Nicholas Pooran(VC), Odean Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir, Romario Shepard, Dominic Drakes, Fawad Ahmed
Captain – Even Lewis
The SKNP opener is a prolific scorer in the shortest format of the game and scored a ton in his last outing as well. So he can be made the skipper of the side. He showed a glimpse of it in the last game as well.
Vice-Captain – Romario Shepard
He has a stunning game against the Tallawahs picking 3/31 after scoring 72 off 31 balls which sealed the deal for them.
Dream11 Team
