GGT vs MIE Match Preview
Buoyed by a superb batting performance by James Vince, who has scored 3 half-centuries in 5 innings, Giants won each of their opening 4 matches quite convincingly. The other batsmen however haven’t been so consistent and that remains an area of concern for the Giants. Shimron Hetmeyer and Chris Lynn played a couple of good innings but have failed to make an impact in other matches.
The Giants’ bowling attack is heavily reliant on the quicker bowlers. Chris Jordan has been the best among the lot, picking up 10 wickets, and has received good support from the likes of David Weise, Richard Gleeson, and Sanchit Sharma. The team does however lack a bit in the spin department as Rehan Ahmed is the only spinner to have made an impact so far.
After losing 2 consecutive matches, the MI Emirates massacred the Desert Vipers in their latest outing to clinch a memorable victory. Asked to bat first, the MI Emirates played positive cricket from the word go, as the opening pair of Muhammad Waseem and Andre Fletcher put up a 141-run opening stand in just 12.3 overs.
Fletcher was the first to depart after scoring a half-century and Waseem soon followed after well made 86 of just 44 deliveries. Kieron Pollard and Dan Mousley went berserk in the final few overs as the former scored a 50 of just 19 deliveries to lead the Emirates to a mammoth score of 241. The bowlers followed up with an equally good performance, bundling the opposition for just 84 runs in the 13th over.
Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up 3 wickets to take his total tally for the season to 8 wickets, while Imran Tahir is close behind with 7.
Weather Report
Since this is a D/N game, dew will be an important factor in the second innings, making it difficult for the bowlers to get a good grip. The weather is expected to be breezy with no chance of rain and temperatures remaining below 23 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
The Abu Dhabi pitch is an excellent surface to bat on, thanks to some even and consistent bounce. There is very little assistance for the bowlers and they will need to be very disciplined in line and length to put a leash on the batsmen.
The team batting first will be looking to score over 180 to give their bowlers a fighting chance.
Notable stats
Shimron Hetmeyer’s Excellent Strike Rate
Hetmeyer is one of the most explosive batsmen in the Giants’ squad and a good finisher. He has scored 129 runs in 5 innings at a strike rate of 186.95.
Team News
There are no injuries reported from either squad and we should see an unchanged playing eleven from both sides.
GGT vs MIE Probable 11
GGT Playing 11
- Tom Banton (Wk)
- James Vince (C)
- Chris Lynn
- Rehan Ahmed
- Shimron Hetmeyer
- David Weise
- Liam Dawson
- Afzal Khan
- Chris Jordan
- Sanchit Sharma
- Richard Gleeson
MIE Playing 11
- Muhammad Waseem
- Andre Fletcher
- Lorcan Tucker (Wk)
- Kieron Pollard (C)
- Najibullah Zadran
- Dan Mousley
- Dwayne Bravo
- Trent Boult
- Zahoor Khan
- Fazalhaq Farooqi
- Imran Tahir
Dream11 Prediction
We are backing the MI Emirates to win this one. The Gulf Giants have been on a long break and they also lost the most recent match. On the other hand, the Emirates team seems to be peaking in form just at the right time and will give a tough time to the Giants on the field.
Top Picks
Kieron Pollard: The Emirates captain is in excellent form this season, scoring 275 runs at an average of 91.66 in 6 matches. His strike rate is pretty incredible too, at 188.35.
Chris Jordan: Jordan is the best bowler for the Giants this season. He has picked up 10 wickets in 5 matches at a bowling strike rate of 10.50.
Muhammad Waseem: Another brilliant from the Emirates’ squad, Waseem has scored 2 half-centuries so far this season and has scored an aggregate of 214 runs at an average of 35.66.
GGT vs MIE Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: O Pope
Batters: A Fletcher, J Vince, W Muhammad
All-rounders: D Bravo, K Pollard (C), D Wiese (VC)
Bowlers: I Tahir, C Jordan, F Farooqi, R Ahmed
