Last time the Gemini Arabians and Sagittarius Strikers met in the Masters Champions League (MCL), Virender Sehwag smashed 132 runs from just 62 balls, with the Indian marauder aptly aided by Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 52 from 35 balls.
The Strikers stopped the Sehwag and Sangakkara onslaught with the help of their left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, who picked up four wickets in four balls, but it was the Arabians who came out with the win in that thrilling league stage match in Sharjah
The two teams will meet again, in the semifinals of the MCL at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Gemini Arabians have been the best side of the inaugural edition of the MCL. The Sehwag-led Arabians are yet to be defeated in this tournament.
The Arabians' stellar form has been mostly because of their top three batsmen - Sehwag, Sangakkara and Brad Hodge. The three have amassed 668 runs in this tournament.
Adding to that are their legendary spinners -- Muttiah Muralitharan and Saqlain Mushtaq. The Sri Lankan off-spinner is the highest wickettaker of the MCL so far with 12, and has an astounding average of 9.4.
The Gemini Arabians are undoubtedly the favourites to enter the final of the MCL, even if the Sagittarius Strikers will make it as difficult as possible.
In that last match between the two sides, the Arabians scored a massive total of 224 runs. The Strikers lost that game by just 12 runs. So, the Arabians should not take their opponents lightly.
Captain Adam Gilchrist and Mahela Jayawardene have been in good form with the bat at the top of the order for the Strikers. They have not scored as many runs as Sangakkara or Sehwag, but they can be equally lethal on their day.
Squads: Gemini Arabians: Virender Sehwag (C), Graham Onions, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Muttiah Muralitharan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brad Hodge, Saqlain Mushtaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Jacques Rudolph, Richard Levi, Justin Kemp, Paul Harris, Kyle Mills, Ashish Bagai, Saqib Ali.
Sagittarius Strikers: Adam Gilchrist (C&wk), Jonathan Trott, Michael Carberry, Phil Mustard, Nathan Hauritz, Mahela Jayawardene, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Mushtaq Ahmed, Yasir Hameed, Tino Best, Krishmar Santokie, Alviro Petersen, Gavin Hamilton. Khurram Khan.
Where to watch live:
The 1st semi-final of the Masters Champions League - Gemini Arabians vs Sagittarius Strikers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. local time (9 p.m. IST, 8:30 p.m. Pakistan time, 10:30 a.m. EST & 3:30 p.m. GMT) start. The live coverage of the T20 game in India will be on Sony SIX andSony SIX HD. The live streaming option will be available on Sony LIV.
Gemini Arabians vs Sagittarius Strikers will be broadcast live on PTV Sport in Pakistan. Fans can stream the 1st semi-final of the MCL T20 2016 on GeoSuper.
Fans in the Middle-East can watch the live action of Gemini Arabians vs Sagittarius Strikers on Ten Sports.
Supersport Africa will telecast Gemini Arabians vs Sagittarius Strikers live in the Sub-Saharan countries.
Audience in the Caribbean island can watch the 1st semi-final of the MCL - Gemini Arabians vs Sagittarius Strikers live on SportsMax.
There will be no live telecast of the Masters Champions League in the UK, But the fans of the game should not be disheartened as they can stream the MCL games on Watch Sky Sports.
ESPN 3 will broadcast the game live in the US. Watch ESPN will live stream the MCL games.
