CPL 2019: Barbados Tridents vs Trinbago Knight Riders, Match 23, Bridgetown: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

Barbados Tridents will host Trinbago Knight Riders for Match 23 of CPL 2019, at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown. While the Knight Riders have not yet qualified for the Playoffs, a win here will place them directly in Qualifier 1 against Guyana Amazon Warriors. That will leave two spots open for four teams.

The Tridents have won 2 and lost 4 of their matches. While their bowlers (mainly Sandeep Lamichhane and Jason Holder) have done reasonably well, their batsmen have let them down.

The Tridents have managed to cross 140 only twice – which resulted in their two victories. With 107 runs a strike rate of 155, Ashley Nurse, of all people, has been their most successful batsman, which bears further evidence to the extent their batsmen have failed.

The Knight Riders, on the other hand, are one of the most-feared line-ups of the tournament. They boast of Colin Munro and Lendl Simmons – arguably the most explosive opening pair – at the top, and Kieron Pollard down the order. They have crossed 150 every time, and have put up scores of 191/4, a tournament record of 267/2, and 216/4. They may be playing after 5 days and batting after 9, but that is unlikely to be a handicap.

Head to head

Trinbago Knight Riders have beaten Barbados Tridents 8 times and lost to them 4 times.

Key players

JP Duminy (Barbados Tridents): Not only is Duminy the joint-leading run-scorer for the Tridents, he also has figures of 6-0-37-2 in the tournament. They need all of his experience to pull this off.

Lendl Simmons (Trinbago Knight Riders): The second-highest run-getter in the tournament, Simmons (strike rate 183) scored 63, 86, and 90 in his last three outings. If the upward trend continues, Trinbago will make it to the top two with 3 matches in hand.

Likely XIs

Barbados Tridents: Johnson Charles (wk), Alex Hales, Justin Greaves, JP Duminy, Jonathan Carter, Jason Holder (c), Ashley Nurse, Roshon Primus, Raymon Reifer, Sandeep Lamichhane, Harry Gurney.

Trinbago Knight Riders: Lendl Simmons, Colin Munro, Darren Bravo, Jimmy Neesham, Kieron Pollard (c), Denesh Ramdin (wk), Seekkuge Prasanna, Akeal Hosein, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip, Ali Khan.

Prediction

Trinbago to win and make it to Qualifier 1.