Brampton Wolves vs Winnipeg Hawks, Global Canada T20 League, Match 10: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

Brampton Wolves and Winnipeg Hawks have a chance to jump to the top spot of the Global Canada T20 League when they clash on Thursday, 1 August.

The Wolves are best placed at second on the table, after just two games. They won all too easily their clashes against Montreal Tigers, by ten wickets, and then against Edmonton Royals, by 27 runs.

They were excellent in all departments too – against the Tigers, their bowlers managed to bundle them out for a paltry 101, with Ish Sodhi leading the charge. Lendl Simmons and George Munsey barely broke a sweat as they chased it down in 6.4 overs. Then, against the Royals, their batting muscles were flexed further when Simmons’ half-century was complimented by a typical Shahid Afridi 40-ball 81*.

The Hawks, meanwhile, lost their opener against the Tigers – by 24 runs – but have done well to come back from there, with successive victories against Vancouver Knights and Toronto Nationals by seven wickets and three wickets. That means both teams have significant momentum behind them, and it remains to be seen who blinks first.

Head to head

This is Brampton’s debut campaign, meaning these two sides haven’t faced each other before.

Key players

Lendl Simmons (Brampton): The Trinidadian is a sight to watch when he gets going, and so far in this tournament, he has done just that, with 96 runs in two matches, including a 59. The Wolves have relied on the strong starts he has provided, along with George Munsey, and the Hawks will be hoping to get his wicket early. They better.

Chris Lynn (Winnipeg): If Simmons has provided Brampton with good starts, Lynn has provided Winnipeg with fireworks at the top. With 163 runs in two matches – two half-centuries, that is – he has been unstoppable. If Brampton are to keep their run going, he will need to be stopped.

Likely XI

Brampton: Lendl Simmons (wk), George Munsey, Colin Munro (c), Nitish Kumar, Shahid Afridi, Rohan Mustafa, Wahab Riaz, Ish Sodhi, Cecil Pervez, Zahoor Khan, Nawab Singh

Winnipeg: Chris Lynn, Shaiman Anwar,Sunny Sohal, JP Duminy, Dwayne Bravo, Hamza Tariq (wk), Rayad Emrit, Varun Sehdev, Umair Ghani, Kaleem Sana, Mohammad Irfan  

Prediction

Winnipeg to subject Brampton to their first ever defeat.