PREVIEW : QUALIFIER 5 – FAISALABAD WOLVES VS KANDURATA MAROONS

What

The Faisalabad Wolves and the Kandurata Maroons clash in match 5 of the Karbonn Smart CLT20 2013 Qualifiers. Both teams suffered defeats at the hands of the Otago Volts and the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and as a result will not progress to the main draw of tournament.

The Wolves have been let down by their batsmen; in their two earlier matches, they managed to post modest scores of 127 and 139, not giving their bowlers any kind of substance to defend. The Maroons, on the other hand, have batted well in both their matches and posted competitive scores, but the bowlers failed to defend them.

Apart from playing for pride, both teams will be keen to give their supporters back home something to cheer about.

When

Friday, September 20, 2013, 4 pm IST

Where

Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

The Protagonists

Though the Faisalabad Wolves have several exciting batsmen in their line-up, none can measure up to the class of their captain Misbah-ul-Haq. Despite not having age on his side – he is 39 years old – Misbah has been in staggering form in recent times and piled on the runs in his team’s two matches. In his team’s inaugural match against the Otago Volts, he top-scored with a fluent innings of 46. In his team’s next outing against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he oozed class yet again and finished with an unbeaten 56, which was chiefly responsible to guide his team a respectable total. Given the kind of form he is in, he will be expected to come to the party yet again.

The Kandurata Maroons are a far better outfit than we’ve seen in the two matches so far. A side packed with 10 international players – five of them international bowlers – the Maroons struggled to defend 154 in their previous outing.

If it was Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne who set the platform in the Maroons’ first match, Upul Tharanga took the attack to the Volts in the second match. The three left-handers batting in the top order will be expected to score the bulk of the runs yet again. Among the bowlers, the Maroons will expect Nuwan Kulasekara to give them early breakthroughs and hope the spin twins – Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv – can strangle the opposition in the middle overs.

Trivia

The Kandurata Maroons have scored the most runs of the four teams competing in the Karbonn Smart CLT20 2013 Qualifiers, while the Faisalabad Wolves have scored the fewest runs of those four teams. All four matches in the Karbonn Smart CLT20 2013 Qualifiers so far have been won by teams chasing.

What Next

This match marks the end of the road for both teams in the Karbonn Smart CLT20 2013. Both teams will head back home after this match and hope to return a stronger unit next season.

Courtesy: CLT20