St. Lucia Kings vs Barbados Royals, CPL 2021, Match 25: Fantasy Preview

NOTE: All stats are as of September 10, 2021 (Up to CPL 2021 Match 24)

St. Lucia Kings (SLK) lock horns with Barbados Royals (BR) in Match 25 of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2021 at Warner Park, St Kitts. The Royals are lingering at the bottom of the points table with slim hopes of proceeding to the semifinals. The Kings, in the other camp, have lost back to back games, the last one by a whopping margin of 55 runs, to jeopardize their situation. A win is important for both side, although, only the Kings have their fortunes in their hands. 

Ground Details and Team Combination

Despite all matches at the same venue - Warner Park in St. Kitts - the season has seen both high and low scoring matches without any consistency between them. The biggest examples are the last two games. In Match 24, Jamaica Tallawahs plundered 211 runs while batting first. However, a match prior to that, the Royals could put only 93 runs on the board. 

Amidst all this turmoil, the left-arm orthodox spinners have shone bright. Barring the right-arm seamers, it is them who have ruled the roost this season. They have 63 wickets, 10 more than left-arm seamers and more than twice of any other variants of spin bowling. They average the least (17.7 runs per wicket) alongside the best economy-rate (6.3 runs per over). Both sides have these bowlers up their sleeves - Joshua Bishop for the Royals, Samit Patel and Jeavor Royal for the Kings.

However, the Royals have been poor with the bat. Hence, we will still suggest a batting line-up boasting of the Kings’ batters. 

Suggested Team

While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Based on your preferences, the platform will guide you to create the ideal fantasy XI.

Captain

Roston Chase has been in incredible form in CPL this season and is currently the leading run-scorer this season with 311 runs at 62.2 to go with a strike-rate of 153.2. He has scored three fifties in the tournament, the joint-most this season. The fact he can chip in with a few wickets with his off-spin is an added bonus. He has picked up eight wickets from as many games at an impressive economy rate of 6.6. His all-round brilliance has fetched him a spot in West Indies’ T20 World Cup squad without playing a single T20I in his career as of now. Speaks a lot about his impact in the tournament, doesn’t it?

Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Chase could score 18-28 and pick 2-3 wickets in this match

X-Factors

With eight wickets to his name, at an average of 5.7, Mohammad Amir is the highest wicket-taker in the Powerplay in CPL 2021. He was completely off color in the Hundred but Amir has shown signs of his older self with a bunch of wickets in the last few games in the Caribbean. He was breathing fire with the new ball in the Royals’ last match and would like to bowl with the same zeal this time around. Look out, Andre Fletcher!

As stated above, left-arm orthodox spinners are enjoying their time in the middle. The 21-year old Joshua Bishop is no anomaly. He has played only two games this season but has snapped five wickets. He will be the key bowler for Holder to attack Kings’ right-handed heavy batting line-up. He can also contribute handy runs with the bat. 

Here are the top-10 picks as per Criclytics projected points-

Player Match-Ups:

The Spiceman, Andre Fletcher may face some heat tonight (September 11th). Opening the batting, he will be up again an in-form Mohammad Amir from one end. From the other, he will have his nemesis, Jason Holder, who has had his number on four occasions. 

Probable XIs:

St. Lucia Kings: Andre Fletcher (wk), Faf du Plessis (c), Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Samit Patel, Tim David, David Wiese, Kadeem Alleyne, Alzarri Joseph, Jeavor Royal, Kesrick Williams

Barbados Royals: Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Glenn Phillips, Smit Patel (wk), Jason Holder (c), Raymon Reifer, Nyeem Young, Joshua Bishop, Jake Lintott, Mohammad Amir