Lions vs Knights, Momentum One Day Cup, Today Match Prediction 16 Feb 2019

lions vs kng Match Prediction & Analysis

Lions would take on Knights in the 5th game of the Momentum One Day Cup 2019 at their home ground Wanderers. Knights have started the tournament on a poor note losing their first game against the Titans pretty much in a bad way. Lions on the other hand also lost to Dolphins and saw their game against Warriors being washed out but they have looked a good side in both these games. 

The two sides had featured in a tied match last season while Lions had won the other game by a narrow margin. It will be interesting to see how the sides approach this game as both the sides have to win one and make their mark in the points table.  

TEAMS PREVIEW

Lions Preview

Rassie van der Dussen would still be upset with their last game against the Warriors being washed away. They were in a comfortable position when rains started pouring heavily and had to share the points. 

They didn’t get to bat in the last game although their batting looked good in the first match. Reeza Hendricks made a brilliant hundred in that game and skipper Rassie van der Dussen had also looked good along with Wiaan Mulder. The side boasts of a good batting line-up having the likes of Kagiso Rapulana and Ryan Rickelton in their ranks and this will make them a confident unit going into the next game. 

If the bowlers looked ordinary in the first game they did well for the limited number of overs they bowled against the Warriors in the rain curtailed game. Wiaan Mulder bowled exceptionally well in the last game and so did Dwaine Pretorius. With Nandre Burger having done well in the last game the bowling attacks seems to have put behind the bad show in their first game.

Lions Predicted Playing XI:

Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Kagiso Rapulana (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Wiaan Mulder, Dwaine Pretorius, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Nono Pongolo, Craig Alexander, Nandre Burger.

Knights Preview

Petrus van Biljon’s side didn’t make the perfect start to the season losing out their first game against Titans after having put up an average score on the board. They will need to win the upcoming game to regain their confidence. 

Their batting lacked lustre in the last game even after that hundred from Keegan Petersen and the last moment firework from Ryan McLaren. The slow scoring rate on a flat deck cost them the game. The team would need to see better performances from Andries Gous, Grant Mokoena and Petrus van Biljon in the next game especially the latter two who had a bad outing in the last game. 

Their bowlers looked pretty ordinary in the last game and managed to dismiss a single Titans batsman. Jacques Snyman and Ryan McLaren bowled economical spells but others failed in the last game. Mbulelo Budaza and Shadley van Schalkwyk will have to do well in the next game for the side to challenge the strong batting line-up of the Lions.

Knights Predicted Playing XI:

Ryan McLaren, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Rudi Second (wk), Petrus van Biljon (c), Grant Mokoena, Keegan Petersen, Tshepo Ntuli , Mbulelo Budaza, Patrick Kruger, Andries Gous, Jacques Snyman.

Weather Conditions

There is forecast for rain and overcast conditions on February 16 at Johannesburg. The pitch is also expected to be little damp given the spells of rain that we have seen so far and this will assist the fast bowlers a bit. With rain forecast anything in the region of 280-300 will be a good score to defend. 

Venue 

The New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg track is known for putting up huge scores on the board. The pitch has even bounce which allows batsmen to hit the ball easily and they are also assisted by the fast outfield in the ground. But given the spells of rain we have seen in the recent days the slight dampness in the pitch shall also assist the fast bowlers. 

Toss: To Bowl

New Wanderers Stadium has historically been good for batting and teams have preferred to set up scores and defend here. But with forecast for rain the team batting second might have the advantage if the game gets curtailed. Hence the captain winning the toss would prefer to put in the opposition to bat here.