Malaysia vs Singapore, Asian Games Men's T20I 2023, Today Match Prediction 28 September 2023

mal vs sin Match Prediction & Analysis

Malaysia will kick off their Asian Games Men’s T20I tournament locking horns with Singapore, a team they’ve played on many occasions before. After losing their first 3 games against Singapore, Malaysia have been unbeaten in the next 4 consecutive matches.

Though Singapore last played T20Is in May of this year, they were consistent with the bat and looked more promising. They had a good tournament during the SEA Games 2023 where they won 2 of their 3 matches.

Prior to that, playing in the Quadrangular T20I series in December of 2022, Singapore lost all of their 7 games including 2 against Malaysia. The batting hasn’t let them down as Singapore managed to score above par almost every time, but the bowlers have failed to pick up regular wickets.

Malaysia, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling with the bat in the recent tri-series at home. It will be an exciting contest between the two teams as they aim for the Quarter-Final spot in the Asian Games Men’s T20I.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Malaysia Preview

Malaysia played their last T20I last week at home and were bowled out for 81 runs while batting first against Papua New Guinea. In the tri-series, Malaysia lost to PNG on both occasions while winning both their matches against Hong Kong.

In this tournament, they will be facing Singapore and Thailand. Malaysia have never lost to Thailand and defeated Singapore in their last 4 encounters. While the records put Malaysia ahead of both their competitors in the group stage, their recent form may be a sign of worry.

The batting strength of Malaysia lies in the middle-order. Skipper Ahmed Faiz at number 4 followed by Virandeep Singh at number 5 are the key players to watch out for in this batting lineup.

The number 3 batter Muhammad Amir has also been quite promising and can strike a crucial partnership with his skipper. The opening batsman Syed Aziz has the ability to score quick runs as he showed in the game against Hong Kong, he hasn’t been very consistent.

It is Faiz and Singh in the middle-order who’ve been reliable and played match-winning knocks for Malaysia in the past. And in the bowling department, Vijay Unni and Virandeep Singh are the big names who’ve led the wicket-taking charts for Malaysia.

Though they failed against PNG in the recent home tri-series, it takes a very strong bowling attack to put Malaysia under pressure.

Malaysia Predicted Playing XI:

Syed Aziz, Zubaidi Zulkifle, Muhammad Amir, Ahmed Faiz (c), Virandeep Singh, Sharvin Muniandy, Ainool Hafizs (wk), Vijay Unni, Khizar Hayat, Aslam Khan, Rizwan Haider

Singapore Preview

Singapore should be confident coming into this tournament. Though it has been quite some time since they played their last T20I, it was a much better performance than what they delivered in 2022.

In 2022, Singapore played 20 matches and won just 2 of them. One of these wins was against Malaysia and the other against Papua New Guinea. However, they kicked off 2023 on a better note winning 2 of their 3 matches in the SEA Games T20I.

Much like their opposition, Singapore also has a reliable middle-order and that is where their batting strength lies. Anish and Navin Param will be the key batters to watch out for at 4 and 5.

During the SEA Games, Anish Param scored an unbeaten 100 off 62 balls against the Philippines at number 4 after he came in to bat when Singapore were 2 down for 7 runs. Openers Aman Desai and Rohan Rangarajan haven’t been consistent with their contributions at the top.

And that will be a concern for Singapore. Moreover, the skipper Rezza Gaznavi hasn’t been in great touch at number 3 either. Singapore will be happy with the change in the leadership after Gaznavi took over from Janak Prakash.

Under Prakash, Singapore suffered huge losses and the batting lineup also looks much different now. With the ball, Adwitya Bhargava and Amjad Mahboob are among the key players to watch out for.

Singapore Predicted Playing XI:

Aman Desai (wk), Abdul Rahman Bhadelia, Rezza Gaznavi (c), Anish Param, Navin Param, Raoul Sharma, Amjad Mahboob, Avi Dixit, Adwitya Bhargava, Venkatesan Thiyanesh, Aahan Gopinath Achar

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

There is enough help on offer for batters on this pitch to put a 160+ total while batting first with ease. However, it also assists spin bowlers and that can make things more interesting. The weather will be partly cloudy in Hangzhou on the match day with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

Venue Details

Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field in Hangzhou will be the venue for this match as Malaysia and Singapore lock horns in their opening match of the tournament. The average 1st innings score at this venue is just 109 runs but there is potential for a much bigger 1st innings total given the size of the boundaries here. We reckon a 165+ runs score would be a match-winning total at this venue in this match.

Toss: To Bat

Singapore have been decent with the bat in their recent outings and will be in a better position if they have runs on the board. The same goes for Malaysia who’ve been struggling a bit when they’re up against a quality bowling attack. Moreover, chasing can be a little challenging on this ground considering the pitch conditions as spinners find more purchase in the second innings. Both teams should be looking to bat first on winning the toss.