Maratha Arabians vs Qalandars, T10 League 2019, Today Match Prediction 23 Nov 2019

mas vs qls Match Prediction & Analysis

After eight days of league action, it's playoff time with the top two teams on the points table facing off in Qualifier 1 of the T10 League 2019. The Arabians have been the best side in the tournament, translating the terrific potential in their squad into matchwinning performances. The Qalandars did have a stutter initially but have peaked at the right time to finish in the top two. The latter have depended on their bowlers while the batting has relied heavily on Tom Banton's excellent form. Three of the top five wicket-takers of the season belong to the Qalandars and that tells you a story.

In contrast, the Arabians have been better across departments. Their gun player has been Chris Lynn who has been on a rampage, but the others have also had their moments. Arabians also have a strong bowling unit that's extremely good in squeezing the opposition. This quality has been a potent weapon the team's arsenal and has helped them top the group even though the batting unit hasn't clicked in unison consistently. Arabians also seem to have a penchant to thrive under pressure.

How the Qalandars bowlers plot against the Lynn-led Arabians top order will be a crucial subplot in this fixture.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Maratha Arabians Preview

Despite the number of big names in the batting department, Arabians continue to be driven by Lynn (288 runs) and the Aussie has been unstoppable so far. But like they showed in the last fixture, men like Najibullah Zadran and Yuvraj Singh are all fully capable of producing fine knocks. Adam Lyth has been the team's second-best batsman after Lynn and the duo will have a large responsibility if the Arabians are to win this game. The bowling has names who are used to succeeding in high-pressure games and that's a big plus for the team.

Key Players: Chris Lynn, Lasith Malinga

Maratha Arabians Predicted Playing XI:

C Lynn, A Lyth, Y Singh, N Zadran, D Shanaka, C Walton, D Bravo, W Hasaranga, M McClenaghan, L Malinga, S Ahmed

Maratha Arabians Actual Playing XI:

Chadwick Walton, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell McClenaghan, Yuvraj Singh, Hazratullah Zazai, Adam Lyth, Dasun Shanaka, Chris Lynn, Shiraz Ahmed, N Zadran, Lasith Malinga

Qalandars Preview

With 162 runs, Banton was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the league stages and the English dynamo has been entertaining at the top of the order. The others haven't quite hit the straps with skipper Dawid Malan being a huge underperformer. Seasoned wicket-keeper bat Luke Ronchi has also been a letdown, with the opener getting benched towards the end of the Super League. The batting does have some decent potential but it will be up to Banton, Malan, and Salt to drive things forward. With the kind of form their bowlers have displayed, Qalandars will be a side that depends on their bowlers more than the batsmen to set up wins.

Key Players: Tom Banton, George Garton

Qalandars Predicted Playing XI:

T Banton, D Malan(c), P Salt(wk), L Evans, T Kohler-Cadmore, S Prasanna, J Clark, S Ahmed, G Garton, M ur Rahman, L Kumara

Qalandars Actual Playing XI:

Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Jordan Clark, George Garton, Lahiru Kumara, Sultan Ahmed, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dawid Malan, Philip Salt, Luke Ronchi, Laurie Evans, Amjad Gul

Weather Conditions

The forecast is clear for Saturday with temperatures hovering around the mid-20s. Afternoons will be sunny and then it could get a bit cooler from the evening onwards. No rain is forecast and that's great news. The pitches have generally been good for batting but with all the tracks being used twice already, expect some slowness and two-paced nature in the pitches.

Venue Details

Sheikh Zayed Stadium is one of the finest stadiums in the world due to the infrastructure and quality of playing conditions. Average score batting first in the tournament has been 113 approximately.

Toss: To Bowl

Teams have preferred to chase early in the tournament but as the season has gone along, sides have started winning batting first too. In fact, the stats are now in favor of teams batting first and in pressure games like the playoffs, runs on the board will be invaluable. That said, if the pressure factor can be nullified, chasing ain't a bad idea.