Thailand vs Malaysia, AGMT20I, Today Match Prediction 02 October 2023

THA vs MAL Match Prediction & Analysis

Thailand will take on Malaysia in their last match of the group stage. They have an uphill battle to fight as they look to bounce back from their huge loss in the opening game.

Malaysia have a strong bowling attack and are coming into this match on the back of a huge win in their last game. They will pose a tough challenge to a struggling Thailand side. 

Thailand have played a total of 21 T20Is so far since 2019. And their average run rate has been 5.04 which shows the state of Thailand’s batting department. Just before coming to this tournament, Thailand faced Malaysia in August this year in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia bowled them out for just 93 runs in that game. These two teams have locked horns on 7 occasions before. And Malaysia have won each of these matches maintaining a 7-0 lead over Thailand.

With a superior side with in-form bowlers, Malaysia will be looking to extend this winning run against Thailand and book their spot in the Quarter-Finals.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

THA

L

SGP

152/7 in 20.0 7.6

AGMT20I

Singapore beat Thailand by 99 runs 29 Sep 2023

THA

53/10 in 15.3 3.42

MAL

W

MAL

160/8 in 20.0 8

AGMT20I

Malaysia won by 73 runs

28 Sep 2023

SGP

87/10 in 17.5 4.88

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Thailand Preview

Thailand will be up against one of the toughest opponents they’ve faced in their international journey so far. Not only have they lost all 7 matches they played against Malaysia, but have performed quite poorly with the bat.

Before the recent match in the World Cup Asia B Qualifier, the two teams locked horns in the SEA Games T20 where Thailand finished with 113 for 8 batting first.

They met only twice so far in 2023 and in the Quadrangular series in 2022 in Malaysia, Thailand were bowled out for 73 and 30 runs respectively. In their last match of the Asian Games Men’s T20I, Thailand were all out for a very low score of 53 runs.

There is no Akshaykumar Yadav in this side and Thailand have a new skipper in Nopphon Senamontree. The 32-year-old all-rounder has picked up 13 wickets from 11 matches but has scored just 47 runs from 8 innings and has a strike rate of 58.75.

Opening batsman Satarut Rungrueang will be the key player in this side. He was the top-scorer for Thailand in their match against Malaysia in the SEA Games scoring 46 off 32 balls. 

Wicket-keeper batsman Phiriyapong Suanchuai has opened the innings for Thailand in the past and along with Chaloemwong Chatphaisan will be a key player in the middle-order.

In the bowling department, watch out for Chanchai Pengkumta and skipper Nopphon Senamontree to lead the wicket-takers chart. However, if Thailand bat first, the bowlers may not be able to put any pressure on the opposition.

Thailand Predicted Playing XI:

Chanchai Pengkumta, Phiriyapong Suanchuai (wk), Nopphon Senamontree (c), Sorawat Desungnoen, Yodsak Saranonnakkun, Narawit Nuntarach, Chaloemwong Chatphaisan, Khanitson Namchaikul, Sarawut Maliwan, Panuwat Desungnoen, Satarut Rungrueang

Thailand Actual Playing XI:

Phiriyapong Suanchuai, Chanchai Pengkumta, Chaloemwong Chatphaisan, Phanuwat Desungnoen, Narawit Nuntarch, Yodsak Saranonnakkun, Nopphon Senamontree, Sorawat Densungnoen, Anucha Kalasi, Khanitson Namchaikul, Sarawut Maliwan

Malaysia Preview

Malaysia will be confident coming into this match. They ed a big win against Singapore in their opening match and now they will be facing an easy opponent. 

They’ve been dominant throughout their history with Thailand. Pavandeep Singh and Virandeep Singh have been very successful against this opposition. These two are still in great form and will be the key bowlers to watch out for.

Malaysia suffered a brief collapse in the middle-order as they went from 74-2 to 90-6 in just 25 balls. However, all-rounder Virandeep Singh led the comeback with an unbeaten 44 off 34 balls at number 5.

Skipper Ahmad Faiz who was out for 5 off 8 balls at number 4 should be concerned about his batting lineup. Though his team has performed well against Thailand in the past, they’ve never batted first against them.

Thailand also have some promising bowlers and if they bowl first, Malaysia would face some promising bowlers. As such, Syed Aziz, Mohammad Amir, and Ahmed Faiz in the top 4 will need to get Malaysia off to a good start.

Syed Aziz is one of the top performers in this batting lineup and looked in great touch in the last match with 3 sixes and 3 fours in his innings.

Malaysia Predicted Playing XI:

Syed Aziz Mubarak, Zubaidi Zulkifle, Muhammad Amir Azim, Ainool Hafizs (wk), Ahmad Faiz (c), Vijay Unni, Virandeep Singh, Anwar Rahman, Pavandeep Singh, Sharvin Muniandy, Syazrul Idrus

Malaysia Actual Playing XI:

Ahmad Faiz, Muhammad Amir Azim, Ainool Hafizs, Ahmad Zubaidi Zulkifle, Syed Aziz, Virandeep Singh, Sharvin Muniandy, Syazrul Idrus, Vijay Unni, Pavandeep Singh, Anwar Rahman

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

It is a balanced wicket and the bowlers will be difficult to face unless a batter is well set and can time the ball well. A 160+ score is also quite possible on this pitch if batters are more disciplined. The weather will be partly cloudy with a high of 24 degrees Celsius in Hangzhou on the match day.

THA vs MAL Pitch Report

Thailand and Malaysia will lock horns at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field in Hangzhou as Thailand look to secure their first-ever win over Malaysia. While the average 1st innings score here is quite low, there is enough help on offer for batters to score higher than that. We reckon something over 150 will be quite competitive at this venue. And for Thailand, it will be a tough ask to chase such a total given their lack of consistent and in-form batters.

Toss: To Bowl

While we predicted batting first to be the right strategy for teams in our previous match analyses, in this game, we reckon both skippers will be eager to bowl first. Malaysia have bowled first in all of their 7 wins against Thailand so far. Thailand, on the other hand, have failed time and again when they were put to bat first. As such, they will be keen on bowling first if they win the toss.