Table-toppers Trinbago Knight Riders and second-placed St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will go head to head in Qualifier 1 of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2017 at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Tuesday, September 5.
While the Knight Riders sealed their spot in the playoffs as early as August 26, Chris Gayle-led Patriots demolished Barbados Tridents in a match that saw Twenty20 records tumble on Monday, September 4, to make the progress.
Elvin Lewis struck a 32-ball 97 as the left-hander combined with Gayle (22 off 14) to gun down the total in just seven overs. With the emphatic win, the Patriots also leapfrogged Jamaica Tallawahs and give themselves two opportunities to make the final.
Big-hitters in both the line-ups
A blockbuster Qualifier 1 is expected as both the Knight Riders and Patriots have big-hitting superstars. While Lewis and Gayle are the main attractions in the latter's line-up, Mohammed Hafeez and Carlos Brathwaite's presence adds a lot of depth to their batting order.
On the other hand, Brendon McCullum of the Knight Riders is at the fourth spot on the top-scorers' list of the season with 335 runs. His New Zealand teammate Colin Munro has also been in fine form for Bravo's side, scoring 275 runs in 10 matches.
It will be interesting to see how Sunil Narine goes about his business at the top of the order, as he has gone berserk inside the powerplay overs in the recent past.
Gayle opens up on all-important contest
The Knight Riders head into the heavily-anticipated contest with a slender advantage: They had defeated the Patriots in both their group-stage meetings. Gayle knows his side has to be at its best if they are to avoid another defeat on Tuesday.
"Trinidad have been playing really well. It'll be a challenge to go there and beat them," Gayle said at the most-match presentation ceremony after his side crushed the Tallawahs on Monday.
The Patriots' bowling unit will be tested. However, Gayle should be happy with the way the bowling line-up has collectively performed.
Brathwaite, Mohammad Nabi and Tabraiz Shamsi have been the pick of the bowlers so far, while Ben Hilfenhaus' experience will be key as the Patriots will look to keep the Knight Riders' big-hitters quiet.
On the other hand, the Knight Riders have two of the best T20 spinners in Sunil Narine and Shadab Khan, and the duo will look to hurt the Patriots later on Tuesday. Notably, one of these two spinners might even get to bowl in the powerplay in a bid to remove the dangerous duo of Gayle and Lewis early.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The Qualifier 1 between the Knight Riders and the Patriots will start at 8 pm local time, 12 am GMT (Wednesday), 5:30 am IST (Wednesday).
Live streaming and TV coverage information
India: TV: Sony Six, Sony ESPN. Live streaming: Sony Liv
United States: TV: Willow TV
Afghanistan: TV: Sony Six. Live streaming: Sony Liv
UK: BT Sport. Live streaming: BT Sport online
Australia: TV: Fox Sports Live streaming: Foxtel Go
Bangladesh: TV: Sony Six. Live streaming: Sony Liv
Pakistan: Live streaming: Facebook
Middle East: TV: OSN. Live streaming: OSN Play
Sri Lanka: TV: Sony Six
St. Lucia: TV: HTS
Trinidad: TV: CNC-3
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