CPL 2019, Match 9, Jamaica Tallawahs vs St Lucia Zouks, Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

Jamaica Tallawahs are languishing at the bottom of the points table in the CPL. But they have been a better side that what the scorecard would display. Their bowlers have looked a tad rusty despite possessing quite a bit of experience at the highest level. The other night, the Tallawahs failed to defend a mammoth 241 runs. Their next match is against the St Lucia Zouks at the Sabina Park.

The Zouks didn’t start well either, having lost their opening two encounters. The Zouks’ bowling hasn’t been all that great and restricting the Jamaican batting will be a humongous task for them. As far as head to head is concerned, the Tallawahs have won eight out of their 11 matches. Most importantly, the Zouks have never beaten Jamaica at the latter’s home-ground out of three contests.

Pitch and Conditions

Jamaica hosted only a couple of games in last edition’s CPL and on three instances, scores of above 170 were witnessed. Going by the scores in the ongoing event, such a total won’t be surprising. Both teams would want to chase after winning the toss. The conditions don’t have any forecast of a downpour. The temperature will be around the 28 degrees Celsius-mark.

Team Combinations

Jamaica Tallawahs

Chris Gayle has arguably been the Tallawahs’ standout performer. Having notched his 22nd century in T20 cricket, he hasn’t run out of gas. The southpaw has 144 runs at an average of 72 at a strike-rate of 175.60. Chadwick Walton got 73 against the Patriots and he’s in decent enough form. Andre Russell, being one of their biggest hitters, should be batting consistently at the top of the order.

In the bowling unit, apart from Jerome Taylor, who has an economy of 9.85, every other bowler has an economy of above 11. Oshane Thomas got four wickets in the previous match, including three wickets in one over, but gave away 53 runs. Russell was one of their star bowlers last series and even he has leaked runs at an alarming rate. The spin department also needs to be taken care of.

Probable XI

Chris Gayle, Glenn Phillips (wk), Chadwick Walton, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell (C), Shamar Springer, George Worker, Steven Jacobs, Jerome Taylor, Christopher Lamont, Oshane Thomas

St Lucia Zouks

The Zouks will be bolstered with the inclusion of Colin de Grandhomme and Hardus Viljoen. The NOC granted to Thisara Perera has now been revoked after he backed out from the Pakistan tour. Their batting unit has been inconsistent, to say the least. Rahkeem Cornwall has been outstanding, especially in the mandatory powerplay. The hulk-like figure has 69 runs at a strike-rate of 265.38.

John Campbell gave a good account of himself, scoring 43, but he needs to find a way of accelerating. Najibullah Zadran has got the starts and now he needs to convert them. Grandhomme can also smack the leather a fair distance. In the bowling area, the Zouks didn’t have much to cheer against the Knight Riders. On a batting-friendly Jamaica strip, they need to be on their mark.

Probable XI

Andre Fletcher, Rahkeem Cornwall, John Campbell, Najibullah Zadran, Darren Sammy (C), Colin de Grandhomme, Andre McCarthy, Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy, Fawad Ahmed, Hardus Viljoen

Probable Top Performers

Chris Gayle – Jamaica Tallawahs| Rahkeem Cornwall– St Lucia Zouks

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports 2

Online– Hotstar

Match Timings – 05:30 IST (September 13) and 19:00 local (September 12)

The prediction is for Jamaica Tallawahs to win the match.