International T20 League

14th Match: GG vs SW

Preview

GG vs SW will lock horns for the 14th ongoing International T20 League match. The game will be held on Monday, January 23, at 07:30 PM IST. Dubai International Cricket Stadium will be hosting the match. 

The GG is having a dream run in the inaugural International League T20. The side has won all 4 of their matches and is sitting comfortably at the No.1 position with 8 points and a net run rate of +2.130. Gulf next faces Sharjah, 4th on the table with just 2 points and a poor net run rate of -0.745. However, they will take confidence from their 7-wicket win against Dubai in their previous game.

The Gulf look unstoppable at the moment. In their previous game, they chased down an imposing target of 196 with three balls and 5 wickets to spare. The destructive opener Chris Lynn (71 off 42 balls) and the left-handed batter Shimron Hetmyer (70 off 35 balls) were the stars of the chase.

Both these performances will greatly please the team as the two power-hitters can destroy any bowling attack in the world and the Giants would love to have them in form going ahead.

Hetmyer had a few quiet knocks before that match but finally found his rhythm. We expect him to produce a few more special knocks in the next matches. The skipper of the side James Vince (228 runs in 4 matches at a strike rate of 152) is the leading run-getter for the Giants this season.

On the bowling front, Chris Jordan (7 wickets in 4 matches at an economy of 8.74) and David Wiese (6 wickets in 4 matches at 6.54) have been the most consistent. English pacer Richard Gleeson has kept things tight with the new ball, going at an economy of just 5.33 and picking up 5 wickets. 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed (5 wickets in 4 innings at 8.26) has been doing a fine job in the middle overs.

After losing their first three matches, the Warriors finally opened their account by beating the Capitals on January 21. They chased a target of 178 in just 14.4 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with the help of Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s breathtaking unbeaten 106 off 47 balls. It was a freak knock by another English batter and was much-needed for the Warriors. Before this, their batting unit had greatly underperformed. 

Even now, the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (98 runs in 4 matches at an average of 24.50) and Dawid Malan (41 runs in 4 matches at an average of 10.25) are yet to fire. Captain Moeen Ali has only managed 50 runs in 4 innings so far at an average of 12.50. Joe Denly, who had failed in the first three matches, struck a fine unbeaten 29 off 17 balls in the chase against Dubai.

Sharjah will be happy that they are playing at Dubai again, as it gives their struggling batting unit a chance to get some form.

The English seam bowler Chris Woakes (5 wickets in 3 matches at an economy of 8.83) and Junaid Siddique (5 wickets in 4 matches at an economy of 8.52) are the joint-highest wicket-takers for the Warriors this season. 18-year-old chinaman Noor Ahmad has impressed in the two matches he’s played so far, but the team does lack a wicket-taking spin bowler currently.

Match Details

Match: GG vs SW, 14th Match, International T20 League

Date: Monday, January 23, 2023

Time: 07:30 PM

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE

Pitch & Weather Report

The pitch is great for batting and stays true throughout the T20 match. Spinners do get some help here once the ball becomes a little soft. However, the Pacers will struggle and need to vary their pace smartly. Once the dew sets in, batting will become easier, and bowlers will be under more pressure. The weather in Dubai during this match on Monday will be cool and pleasant. The average score batting first at this venue is 156.

The highest total at Dubai International Cricket Stadium this season is 196-5 by the Gulf (in 19.3 overs) while chasing. Scores between 150 to 189 have been posted 62 times here in 112 T20 games. The team batting first should look to set a target of around 190-200 runs to take the game away from the opposition.

The pitch favours the team batting second. Of the 6 matches played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium this season, 5 have been won by the chasing side. The team winning the toss in this game will choose to bat second.

The weather forecast for the matchday on 23rd January 2023 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is expected to be sunny with patches of clouds surrounding the sky. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be 24 and 14 degrees Celsius with 53% humidity and a 10 kmph wind rate.

GG vs SW Squads

GG: Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Tom Banton, Dominic Drakes, David Wiese, Jamie Overton, Richard Gleeson, Rehan Ahmed, Wayne Madsen, Liam Dawson, James Vince, Qais Ahmad, Ollie Pope, Aayan Khan, Sanchit Sharma, CP Rizwaan, Ashwant Valthapa

SW: Moeen Ali (c), Dawid Malan, Evin Lewis, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Woakes, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen-ul-Haq, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Danny Briggs, Mark Deyal, Bilal Khan, JJ Smit, Chris Benjamin, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah.

GG vs SW Probable XIs

GG: Chris Lynn, James Vince, Shimron Hetmyer, Rehan Ahmed, Erasmus, Chris Jordan, David Wiese, Sanchit Sharma, Richard Gleeson, Liam Dawson, A Chidambaram 

SW: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dawid Malan, Alishan Sharafu, Moeen Ali (c), Joe Denly, Mohammad Nabi, Paul Walter, Noor Ahmad, Junaid Siddique, Naveen-ul-Haq

Match Prediction

The GG are a dangerous team with plenty of depth both in their batting and bowling. With the likes of Shimron Hetmyer and Chris Lynn coming into form, their batting looks even more threatening now. Any target might not be out of reach for this batting unit. Barring the freakish performance from Tom Kohler-Cadmor the other night, the Warriors have struggled to fire as a batting unit. Their bowling has been decent but the bowlers would need to do something special to stop the Giants. We expect the GG to clinch victory in this match on Monday.

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