This article will talk about the probable XIs for both teams and continue with the Dream11 predictions and the winning fantasy team for Match 27 of “The Hundred” between the Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets that is scheduled to take place on the 13th of August 2021.
Trent Bridge will host the top-2 placed teams in this Hundred tournament- Trent Rockets and Birmingham Pheonix in a marquee clash on Friday. Both the sides have won 4 out of the games they have played and could very well be the teams that will advance to the knockouts. This is also the 2nd time these sides are meeting this year and the previous encounter saw Pheonix winning by 6 wickets.
Birmingham Phenix has been on a roll winning their last 3 games in quite a fashion but its skipper Moeen Ali will miss out on the rest of the games due to national call-up. Still, they are a formidable side as we saw in the last game. The Pheonix posted the highest total of this Hundred edition with Will Smeed, the opener scoring making a 38-ball 65 while Moeen Ali scored 59 from 28. Livingstone gave the finishing touches making 31 as they made 184/5. It proved a cakewalk for them with the ball as Imran Tahir picked 5/25 which included a hat-trick as the Pheonix won by 93 runs.
Trent Rockets suffered their 2nd loss of the competition against the Oval Invincibles in a close contest by 9 runs. On a rain truncated game which was reduced to 65-balls-per-side, the Rockets allowed the Invincibles to score 125. Chasing 126 was never going to be easy as the asking rate was almost 2 runs per from the beginning. And eventually, they well shot by 9 runs despite Alex Hales’ 25 and skipper Lewis Gregory’s 28.
Match Details
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Pitch and Weather: The two games that have been played here in the Hundred competition were not that high-scoring ones. The average score was between 125-135 in those 2 games and could very well be the case when the Rockets take on the Pheonix.
This will be the 1st game at this venue since the Test match between India and England where the pacers enjoyed a lot. Batsmen also found it easy as the days went. The weather will be sunny with temperatures reaching 21.
Date & Time: August 13, 7.00 PM Local time, 11.30 PM IST
Probable Playing XIs
Trent Rockets may have suffered a rare blip in the last game but they may not worry about that much. Their batters have been in fine form throughout this tournament while the bowlers have done a good job as well.
Likewise, the Birmingham Pheonix may not be too worried despite the fact that their skipper Moeen Ali is not available. So they will definitely have a change in this match. Middle-order batsman Daniel Bell-Drummond may very well replace him with Livingstone taking up the captain’s role.
Birmingham Phoenix
Finn Allen, Will Smeed, Miles Hammond, Liam Livingstone(C), Daniel Bell-Drummond, Chris Benjamin(WK), Benny Howell, Pat Brown, Adam Milne, Tom Helm, Imran Tahir
Trent Rockets
Alex Hales, D’Arcy Short, Dawid Malan, Tom Moores (wk), Samit Patel, Lewis Gregory (capt), Rashid Khan, Steven Mullaney, Matthew Carter, Marchant De Lange/ Sam Cook, Imm Van der Gugten
Match Prediction
Both the teams are equally placed at this point of the time but the absence of Moeen Ali will definitely be felt by the Birmingham Pheonix. With Trent Rockets playing at their home venue, they will start as favorites.
Fantasy Tips
Batsman: The Pheonix opener Will Smeed has produced some top-class hitting in the last few games and can be selected in the fantasy XI. Alex Hales can be picked as the batsman from the Trent Rockets. He has played a few crucial knocks in this tournament for his team. Dawid Malan is another player who can be picked.
Wicket-Keeper: Chris Benjamin from Birmingham Pheonix can be the lone wicket-keeper of the fantasy side. The 22-year-old has made some crucial runs for the team down the order.
All-rounders: The duo of Liam Livingstone and Benny Howell can be picked as the 2 all-rounders from the Pheonix team. While Livingstone has scored over 160 runs for the team in this tournament, Howell has picked up 7 wickets. The other all-rounder spot can go to the veteran Samit Patel who has taken 6 wickets as well scored over 100 runs.
Bowlers: The leg-spinners from either side Rashid Khan and Imran Tahir can be selected. Tahir took a 5-wicket haul in the last game, while Rashid Khan is one of the best in this format. Matthew Carter has picked 7 wickets so far and he along with Adam Milne.
Captaincy Choices
Fantasy Team: Will Sameed, Alex Hales(C), Dawid Malan, Chris Benjamin, Liam Livingstone(VC), Samit Patel, Benny Howell, Rashid Khan, Imran Tahir, Adam Milne, Matthew Carter
Captain: Alex Hales
Alex Hales is one of the best batsmen in this format. He is still the right candidate as the captain of the side for the impact he creates with the bat.
Captain: Liam Livingstone
The all-rounder has in red-hot form in the shortest format of the game as well in this Hundred competition and he can be made the vice-captain.
Dream11 Team
