Match: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Desert Vipers (ADKR vs DV)
Date: January 20, Friday, 7.30 PM IST
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Desert Vipers will go head to head in match nine of the International League 2023 on Friday, January 20. The match will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Knight Riders, led by Sunil Narine, have so far had a season to forget. With three losses in as many games, the Knight Riders are placed at the bottom of the points table with a net run rate of -2.723. This will be their second successive game against the Vipers; the two sides met a couple of days ago when the Vipers won comprehensively.
Batting first, the Knight Riders were able to post a total of only 133 runs on the board after their opening batsman Brandon King scored a knock of 57 runs. None of the other ADKR batsmen could cross a personal score of 30. Their bowlers did an even worse job on the day, allowing the opponents to chase down the target in 15.4 overs. Alex Hales top scored with a knock of 64 runs while Sam Billings remained unbeaten on 35.
The Vipers have won both their matches thus far and will displace MI Emirates from the top of the table if they win the next game. Their net run rate of +1.803 is the best among all teams currently.
Ahead of the ninth game of the ILT20, let’s look at the head to head of both the teams, pitch report, weather update, top picks for your MPL fantasy team and more.
Weather update and pitch report for ADKR vs DV
The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi has mostly always been decent one for batting. The smaller boundary helps the batsmen hit boundaries. The teams batting second have had an advantage at this venue and thus fielding first should be the idea option for the toss-winning captain.
Overall, a total of 72 T20 matches have been played at this venue in the past, of which 38 were won by the teams bowling first. The average score from those 72 matches is 137. The highest and lowest T20 total on this ground is 225 for 7 and 77 for 10.
The weather in Abu Dhabi is likely to be pleasant during the course of the game. The temperature is expected to cross 27 degrees Celsius.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders team news and predicted XI
Team news: Nothing much has gone right for the Knight Riders so far in the tournament. Not only have they lost all of their first three games, but they have lost them by big margins.
Squad: Sunil Narine (c), Andre Russell, Paul Stirling, Lahiru Kumara, Charith Asalanka, Colin Ingram, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer, Kennar Lewis, Ali Khan, Brandon Glover, Sabir Ali, Matiullah Khan, Zawar Farid, Fahad Nawaz, Marchant de Lange, Dhananjaya de Silva, Connor Esterhuizen, Traveen Mathew
Predicted XI: Colin Ingram, Paul Stirling, Brandon King, Zawar Fadrid, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Connor Esterhuizen, Akeal Hosein, Fahad Nawaz, Ravi Rampaul, Marchant De Lange
Desert Vipers team news and predicted XI
Team news: The return of Wanindu Hasaranga to the squad after wrapping up the ODI series against India has strengthened the Vipers team. He picked up three wickets for 18 runs in his first game of the season, which was also against the Knight Riders.
Squad: Colin Munro (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Matheesha Pathirana, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Benny Howell, Ruben Trumpelmann, Mark Watt, Tymal Mills, Adam Lyth, Rohan Mustafa, Shiraz Ahmad, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dinesh Chandimal, Gus Atkinson, Jake Lintott
Predicted XI: Alex Hales, Adam Lyth, Colin Munro, Sam Billings, Rohan Mustafa, Sherfane Rutherford, Benny Howell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tom Curran, Matheesha Pathirana, Shiraz Ahmad
Head to head record
This will be the second match between the two sides. The first one was won comprehensively by the Vipers.
Five players to watch out for
Here we list five players you must pick in your MPL fantasy XI ADKR vs DV
Brandon King – batsman, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
Brandon King is currently one of the most explosive T20 batsmen in the world. The opening batsman, known to clear boundaries with ease, scored 57 runs at a strike rate of 129 in the last game against the Vipers and will be looking to carry the same form into the next game.
Wanindu Hasaranga – all-rounder, Desert Vipers
Wanindu Hasaranga missed the first game of the season for the Vipers as he was yet to fly to the UAE from India where he was playing for Sri Lanka. But he made an immediate impact upon his return in the next game, picking three wickets at an economy of 4.5. Hasaranga is currently one of the best limited-overs all-rounders in the world and is a good option for your MPL team’s captaincy for this game.
Alex Hales – batsman, Desert Vipers
Alex Hales will be one of the key players for the Vipers. In the previous game against the Knight Riders, he scored 64 runs including seven boundaries and one six, and will be looking to do something similar against the same opponents in the next game.
Andre Russell – all-rounder, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
Apart from picking two wickets and scoring 38 runs in three matches so far, star all-rounder Andre Russell has not been able to do much for the team. He was dismissed for a duck in the reverse fixture against the Vipers and will now look to make amends for it in the next game. Russell brings with him plenty of experience and can be the game-changer on his day.
Sunil Narine – all-rounder, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
Sunil Narine is another good pick for your fantasy team’s all-rounders slot. In the last game against the Vipers, he picked one wicket at an economy of 6.5.
MPL XI
ADKR vs DV – where and what time to watch the match live in India
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Desert Vipers match will be telecast on ZEE’s 10 linear channels in English, Hindi, and Tamil as well as on ZEE5.The match will begin at 7.30 PM IST on January 20.
Check out our detailed guide on fantasy cricket for more tips and tricks. https://www.mpl.live/blog/todays-match-prediction/
Note: The players recommended here need not be a part of the Playing 11 on game day. Users are advised to do their own research also and follow official sources and create their teams.
