Sharjah Warriors vs Gulf Giants , ILT20, Today Match Prediction 19 January 2024

SW vs GG Match Prediction & Analysis

The second season of the International League T20 is all set to begin with defending champion Gulf Giants taking on the Sharjah Warriors at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah.

The home team has made a great number of changes in the squad and will be hoping to start on a winning note. Last season the two teams had a 1-1 head-to-head winning ratio. 

One of the major changes in the squads is Qais Ahmed from Gulf Giants ing the Warriors for this season. And while the Giants have retained 3 key bowlers, Sharjah Warriors have only retained two. 

However, they still have Chris Waokes as an all-rounder in their squad and that should give the skipper confidence in the bowling attack. Sharjah Warriors seem to have added a lot of firepower to their batting department this season.

Gulf Giants, on the other hand, have let go some promising wicket-keeper batters from last season.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

SW

GG

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Sharjah Warriors Preview

Sharjah Warriors defeated Gulf Giants by 21 runs while defending a below-par total of 151 runs in Dubai. And in their home game in Sharjah, they were bowled out for 107 runs batting first against the Giants.

Some of the top guns like Gurbaz, Dawid Malan, and Moeen Ali all failed to get going and it was Joe Denly who led the comeback to help the Warriors reach 151 in Dubai.

Of these 4 batters, only Denly will continue being part of the squad this season. They’ve brought in Martin Guptill who would likely open the innings for the Warriors. In addition, they’ve replaced Gurbaz and Chris Benjamin with Johnson Charles and Kusal Mendis while Tom Kohler-Core is retained.

Charles would be an option for the opener while Mendis could come in at number 3. It was Kohler-Core who opened the innings last season and was quite impressive too.

Warriors need a reliable middle-order and some consistent batters who can Denly. The experienced Zimbabwe batsman Sean Williams is part of the all-rounders' department this year along with Basil Hameed.

In the lower order, Daniel Sams could be the potential match-finisher for Sharjah Warriors. Chris Woakes and Junaid Siddique from last year’s bowling attack have been retained. They will be ed by Dilshan Madhushanka and James Fuller in the pace department.

It looks like a solid bowling attack with some promising spinners in Qais Ahmed and Mark Watt.

Sharjah Warriors Predicted Playing XI:

Martin Guptill, Johnson Charles, Kusal Mendis (wk), Tom Kohler-Core, Joe Denly (c), Daniel Sams, Chris Woakes, James Fuller, Junaid Siddique, Qais Ahmed, Dilshan Madhushanka

Sharjah Warriors Actual Playing XI:

Martin Guptill, Basil Hameed, Chris Woakes, Lewis Gregory, Johnson Charles, Tom Kohler Core, Chris Sole, Muhammad Jawadullah, Qais Ahmad, Daniel Sams, Maheesh Theekshana, Niroshan Dickwella

Gulf Giants Preview

Gulf Giants will be looking to kick off their campaign on a winning note against the Warriors who they dominated with the ball on both occasions last year. It was the batting performance that let the Giants down in the Sharjah game last season while chasing a small target of 152 runs.

Unlike the opposition, Gulf Giants have retained most of the key players. They will be eager to bounce back at this venue with a stronger performance with the bat. Now they will be hoping for good pitch conditions as they come here given they don’t seem to have struck a good balance with the bat this year.

The trio of James Vince, Chris Lynn, and Shimron Hetmyer continues to be part of the squad but the Giants have released wicket-keepers Tom Banton and Ollie Pope.

They’ve completely replaced the wicket-keepers’ department with Jamie Smith, Jordan Cox, and Usman Khan. These 3 are promising batters but whether they can deliver in these conditions in the UAE needs to be seen.

The likes of Carlos Brathwaite and Karim Janat will be crucial in the lower order as match-finishers. Gerhard Erasmus is the only batting all-rounder in this squad that features 5 bowling all-rounders.

Giants will not be short of bowling options. However, they let go of one of the top-performing all-rounders from last season, David Wiese. Chris Jordan and Dominic Drakes will lead the bowling attack for Gulf Giants.

They are ed by Saurabh Netravalkar from the U.S.A. and the right-arm off-break Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The spinners may find some help from this surface in Sharjah and will be ones to watch out for.

Gulf Giants Predicted Playing XI:

Chris Lynn, James Vince (c), Jordan Cox (wk), Usman Khan, Shimron Hetmyer, Gerhard Erasmus, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Jordan, Dominic Drake, Richard Gleeson, 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 in Sharjah that has helped batters score big over the years. It has witnessed some of the most iconic innings in one-day cricket and in T20s, it has rained sixes in both innings as teams have chased down big totals. 

However, at times, this pitch can also get slow after it’s been used for some games and spinners can come into play. The weather will be partly cloudy with a high of 25 degrees Celsius on the match day.

SW vs GG Pitch Report

The opening game of the International League T20 will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. We expect a fresh wicket to be prepared for this game and hence, a bigger 1st innings total. Though the average 1st innings score here is 156 runs, the team batting first should aim for at least 180+ to stay competitive in the game. 

Toss: To Bowl

Teams batting second have won 46 of the 72 domestic T20s played at this venue. Considering the size of the boundaries here, the chasing team should not find it difficult to push the scoring rate at any point in the innings.