TKR vs ABF, Preview | Knight Riders hope to keep fifth title dreams alive in eliminator against Falcons

Today at 5:07 PM

The eliminator of CPL 13 will be played between the Trinbago Knight Riders and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons on September 17 at the Providence Stadium. The Knight Rider will be looking to keep fifth title hopes alive, while the Falcons will be looking to make an impact in their first playoff game.

The playoffs of the 13th edition of the CPL are just a couple of days away, and it will start with a do-or-die game between the third and fourth-place teams on the points table. The game will feature the most successful side in the tournament, known as the Trinbago Knight Riders, against the new team on the block, Antigua and Barbuda Falcons. One team will be eliminated from the game, and both teams will be battling it out to keep their chances alive in the tournament.

There have already been some great battles between the two teams, where the Knight Riders had suffered a narrow eight-run loss against Antigua at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, but managed to make a comeback in the reverse fixture with a dominating eight-wicket win. Not only will this game break the tie between the two teams this season, but it will also be a chance for both teams to prove themselves, as the Trinbago franchise will be looking to keep their chances for the fifth title alive, and the Falcons will be looking to make an impact on their first playoff game of the tournament.

Form Guide

The Knight Riders might have started as the favourites to make it amongst the top two teams in the tournament, having won four out of their first five games in the tournament. However, with three consecutive losses at the backend of the league stage, they dropped to third on the points table.

The Falcons, on the other hand, have had a mix of great and disappointing performances in the tournament. Though they struggled a bit at the start of their campaign, they managed to come back stronger towards the end of the round robin stage to just about make it into the top four.

Trinbago Knight Riders: L L L W W

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons: W W L L W

Trinbago Knight Riders vs Antigua and Barbuda Falcons Head-to-Head in T20s

Though the Knight Riders have been one of the most dominant sides in the CPL, they have struggled against the Falcons in the last two seasons, having only won a solitary game in the four games they have played against them.

Trinbago Knight Riders 1 - 3 Antigua and Barbuda Falcons

Pitch and Weather

The surface at the Providence Stadium has been slow and dry for the majority of the tournament, where the spinners have received a lot of assistance and have been a challenge for the batters. Batting first is ideal on the surface, as the team defending a score has won three out of the five league games that have been played this season

The expected temperature in Guyana is 29-31 degrees Celsius with a bit of cloud cover. There is a three percent chance of rain at the venue as well.

Team News

The Knight Riders are expected to bring in the experienced campaigners, Darren Bravo and Mohammad Amir, into the lineup in place of Joshua da Silva and Saurabh Netravalkar in the upcoming crucial game.

The Falcons, on the other hand, are expected to go with the same team as their last league game against the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Trinbago Knight Riders Probable XI: Colin Munro, Alex Hales, Darren Bravo, Keacy Carty, Nicholas Pooran(c/wk), Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Akeal Hosein, Usman Tariq, Mohammad Amir.

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons Probable XI: Amir Jangoo(wk), Andries Gous, Karima Gore, Kevin Wickham, Shakib Al Hasan, Imad Wasim(c), Fabian Allen, Shamar Springer, Usama Mir, Jayden Seales, Salman Irshad.

Broadcasting Platforms

The Eliminator between Trinbago Knight Riders and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons will be digitally streamed on the Fancode website and will be telecast on the Star Sports Network at 5:30 am.