Ft. Lauderdale Lions vs Morrisville Raptors, MiLC 2026, Today Match Prediction

FTL vs MOR Match Prediction & Analysis

Ft. Lauderdale Lions and Morrisville Raptors will take on each other on Monday, September 21, 2026, for the opening weekend game of Minor League Cricket (MiLC) 2026. The venue for this match is at Church Street Park, Morrisville, NC and the scheduled start time is 19:30 IST. 

Ft. Lauderdale Lions are coming off a strong victory in the tournament, while Morrisville Raptors enter the contest with back-to-back victories. Both teams would eye a winning momentum in this competition. 

H2H Record: Morrisville Raptors defeated Ft. Lauderdale Lions two out of two times in the Minor League Cricket (MiLC). 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Ft. Lauderdale Lions Preview

Ft. Lauderdale Lions head into the contest on the back of a 44-run victory against Atlanta Lightning. They defended a modest total of 139 runs by bowling the opposition out on 95 runs. Mohib Ahsan bagged a three-wicket haul in the win. Aditya Padala and Atish Gawand also claimed two wickets each. Earlier, they suffered a heavy defeat of 110 runs in a rain-affected clash. 

Meanwhile, they secured a five-wicket victory against Orlando Galaxy by five wickets in the opening game. They chased down 172 runs comfortably with eight balls left.  Heath Richards scored 58 off 37 balls and guided his side home. The Lions have two wins out of three games and they have an opportunity to go top of the table in the South Division. 

Heath Richards has 92 runs for the Lions in 3 innings with a half-century. He could be a player to watch out for. Atish Gawand is their best bowler so far, picking five wickets in 3 innings. He also bagged ten wickets in the last edition at an average of 21.10. Mohib Ahsan claimed four wickets in the ongoing competition. Raunaq Sharma can be a game-changer. The opener scored 408 runs last edition with three half-centuries. Mario Rampersaud can also deliver with his batting skills. He contributed 273 runs last season with three half-centuries. 

Ft. Lauderdale Lions Predicted Playing XI:

Raunaq Sharma, Mario Rampersaud, Christopher Van Tull, Chinmay Kushare, Aditya Padala, Heath Richards, Mohib Ahsan, Wesley Jackson, Aadam Khan, Shaurya Vanjari, Atish Gawand

Morrisville Raptors Preview

Morrisville Raptors enter the matchup with an impressive start to the Minor League Cricket 2026. The Raptors defeated Atlanta Fire by 4 wickets to get their second straight victory. They chased down 167 runs comfortably, courtesy of Mukhtar Ahmed's 63 and Jacobus Pienaar's 29-ball 45. Earlier, they outclassed Atlanta Lightning by nine wickets, chasing 121. Saharsh Shwethan and  Nikhil Mudaliar scored half-centuries. 

In the opening game, Morrisville Raptors faced a 22-run loss against Baltimore Royals. The opposition posted 178 runs and the Raptors were restricted to 156 runs. George Baldwin bagged a three-wicket haul and  Mukhtar Ahmed scored 29-ball 49 in the loss. 

Mukhtar Ahmed is the leading run-scorer for the Raptors this season with 124 runs in 3 innings with a strike rate of 165.33. Nikhil Mudaliar also contributed 86 runs in three innings, including a half-century. George Baldwin has four wickets in 3 innings and Ansh Rai contributed 3 wickets. The latter claimed nine wickets last year in the regular season. Ritvik Appidi has been a standout performer, picking up 12 wickets last edition. 

Morrisville Raptors Predicted Playing XI:

Mukhtar Ahmed, Saharsh Shwethan, Nikhil Mudaliar, Venkat Maheesh Kolahalam, Jacobus Pienaar, George Baldwin, Soham Agashe, Ekamnoor Sandhu, Ansh Rai, Ritvik Appidi, Abhiram Yeruva

Weather Conditions

The weather at Morrisville, NC on 21st September is expected to be sunny with a high of 34°C and a low of 22°C, along with a 65% chance of rain and north winds at 11 kph. 

FTL vs MOR Pitch Report

The surface at Church Street Park, Morrisville is generally good for batting, although pacers are likely to get some assistance. The venue has followed a consistent batting-friendly pattern, with the last five T20s producing average first- and second-innings scores of 147 and 125, respectively. Anything above 170 could prove a challenging target to chase.

Score prediction: 

If Ft. Lauderdale Lions bat first - 170-180 runs 

If Morrisville Raptors bat first - 150-160 runs 

Toss: To Bowl

Chasing sides have won three times of the last five matches at this ground, with the average second-innings score standing at 125. 172 is the highest successful run-chase on this venue. Across MiLC matches, 70% of games have been won by the chasing team. Both teams have previously enjoyed success while fielding first and are likely to opt to bowl if they win the toss.

Toss Prediction: Morrisville Raptors to win the coin toss.