MI Emirates vs Gulf Giants , ILT20, Today Match Prediction 21 January 2024

MIE vs GG Match Prediction & Analysis

MI Emirates will take on Gulf Giants in the 4th T20 of the International League T20 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. This will be the first match of the season to be played at this venue.

It is a great venue for batters and teams scored over 200 runs quite easily last season. A total below 180 runs was easily chased in the early stage of the league on this ground in 2023.

Gulf Giants kicked off their campaign with a win over the Sharjah Warriors while defending 198 runs in Sharjah. With a strong and in-form top order and some big-hitting finishers in the middle and lower order, the Giants should be looking to continue the momentum as they come to Abi Dhabi.

MI Emirates, on the other hand, got off to a poor start with the bat. Their middle order has some of the best T20 players in the world and yet they failed to deliver a decent finish. 

They ended up with just 159 runs on the board and lost the match by 7 wickets against Dubai Capitals. They will be under pressure coming to Abu Dhabi as they face an in-form Gulf Giants.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

MIE

L

DC

160/3 in 16.0 10

ILT20

Dubai Capitals beat MI Emirates by 8 wickets 20 Jan 2024

MIE

159/9 in 20.0 7.95

GG

W

SW

167/7 in 20.0 8.35

ILT20

Gulf Giants beat Sharjah Warriors by 31 runs 19 Jan 2024

GG

198/7 in 20.0 9.9

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

MI Emirates Preview

Nicholas Pooran and co. had a dismal start to the season in their opening match against Dubai Capitals as they finished with just 159 for 9 batting first. Many of the key players in the batting order failed to even get a start.

Muhammad Waseem’s knock at the top was the highlight of this innings. Andre Fletcher was also impactful at number 3. However, skipper Nicholas Pooran, the experienced Ambati Rayudu, and the Kiwi big-hitter Corey Anderson all failed to make an impact.

Tim David managed to score 27 off 22 while Pooran was out for 21 off 23 at number 4. The batting lineup is deep with Corey Anderson coming in at number 7 followed by DJ Bravo. However, it didn’t work out well for Emirates in Dubai.

Rayudu and Anderson may not be the best bets for MI Emirates in our opinion. They haven’t played regular cricket lately and may not be able to pull off a big knock in the lower order.

The bowling attack, led by Trent Boult, also has some promising names like Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akeal Hossein, and Zahoor Khan. Except Boult, none of the other bowlers were impactful in the recent game while defending 159 runs.

The same would happen if they bowl second in this match in Abu Dhabi, especially with a low total on the board.

MI Emirates Predicted Playing XI:

Andre Fletcher, Muhammad Waseem, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Ambati Rayudu, Corey Anderson, Tim David, Will Smeed, Dwayne Bravo, Akeal Hosein, Zahoor Khan, Trent Boult, Fazalhaq Farooqi

MI Emirates Actual Playing XI:

Ambati Rayudu, Asif Khan, Mohammad Waseem, Will Smeed, Andre Fletcher, Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein, Trent Boult, Waqar Salamkheil, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Timothy David

Gulf Giants Preview

The new gs have worked out well for Gulf Giants. Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox delivered the goods in the top 3 after the Giants were put to bat first.

Smith opened the innings alongside skipper James Vince and played a quick-fire knock of 42 off 18 balls. Cox helped continue the momentum after Smith fell and built a 53-run partnership for the 2nd wicket.

All the 3 wicket-keeper batters showed great potential. After Smith and Cox did their job in the top order, it was Usman Khan at number 5 who delivered in the middle-overs scoring 32 off 18 balls.

Though Shimron Hetmyer was out first ball, he is a key player at number 4 and will be one to watch out for in this game. It is a deep batting lineup with Karim Janat coming in at 6 followed by Jamie Overton. 

Giants have some big-hitting options in their squad with Chris Lynn and Carlos Brathwaite who didn’t feature in the XI. Nevertheless, the current XI seems to have gotten off to a great start.

Their bowlers were impressive too. Jamie Overton, Chris Jordan, and Dominic Drakes will be leading the bowling attack. There is a great variety in the bowling department and skipper Vince has many options at his disposal.

Gulf Giants Predicted Playing XI:

James Vince (c), Usman Khan, Jordan Cox, Jamie Smith (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Karim Janat, Aayan Afzal Khan, Dominic Drakes, Chris Jordan, Jamie Overton, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Gulf Giants Actual Playing XI:

James Vince, Shimron Hetmyer, Aayan Khan, Jamie Smith, Jordan Cox, Usman Khan, Chris Jordan, Dominic Drakes, Richard Gleeson, Jamie Overton, Karim Janat, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

It is a batting friendly wicket and there will be plenty of runs on offer. Though MI Emirates scored pretty low against Gulf Giants at this venue last season, most of the other games played here were high-scoring with teams even crossing the 200-run mark. It will be cloudy weather in Abu Dhabi on the match day with a high of 23 degrees Celsius.

MIE vs GG Pitch Report

Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi will be the venue for this encounter between MI Emirates and Gulf Giants. The average 1st innings score at this venue in domestic T20s is 163 runs. However, a match-winning total on this ground will be something over 190-195 runs. Since there may not be any dew on the pitch due to the cloudy weather, the spinners will back themselves to make an impact in the second innings.

Toss: To Bowl

While there is no particular advantage to either batting or bowling first at this venue, we reckon chasing should be the preferred option given the nature of the pitch in Abu Dhabi. Both teams have some big-hitting finishers who can help chase down a competitive score.