Global T20 Round 2: Vancouver Knights vs Toronto Nationals Preview and Probable Playing XI
Vancouver Knights are set to be in action against Toronto Nationals in round 2 of the ongoing Global T20 on July 10 at the Maple Leaf North-West Ground in King City. Both teams went head-to-head in the opening game of the GT20 2018. Toronto won the toss and put Vancouver into bat who amassed a mammoth 227/4 in their allotted 20 overs. The Nationals then completed a brilliant chase and cantered home to win the contest with six wickets and four balls to spare.
Vancouver Knights: Vancouver are currently second on the points table with three wins, one defeat and a washout from their five league matches. They began their Global T20 campaign with a six-wicket loss against the Nationals but bounced back strongly by winning their next three matches. They also managed to eke out an impressive 35 run win in their previous T20 against the table-toppers West Indies B.
Expected Playing XI: Chris Gayle (C), Evin Lewis, Chadwick Walton, Rassie van der Dussen, Babar Hayat, Saad Bin Zafar, Steven Jacobs, Andre Russell, Sheldon Cottrell, Tim Southee and Fawad Ahmed.
With the bat, skipper Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis are the key men at the top. Gayle returned to form with a knock of 63 in the previous fixture against the Windies B Team. Lewis hit a 55-ball 96 in the reverse encounter. Similarly, Rassie van der Dussen is the team's highest run-scorer with 177 runs in four fixtures. Andre Russell, with his big-hitting ability, is a vital cog in the middle order while Cottrell has bagged the most wickets - 9 - from four matches. Fawad and Southee have six wickets each.
Toronto Nationals: On the flipside, Nationals have won two and lost three out of their five matches and sit next to bottom in the league standings. After starting the tournament off with a six-wicket win over the Knights, the Nationals suffered three consecutive defeats against Edmonton Royals, Winnipeg Hawks and the Windies B Team. They, however, managed to eke out a thrilling one-wicket win in their previous fixture against the Montreal Tigers.
For Toronto, Steven Smith and Anton Devcich scored 61 and 92* in their earlier encounter against Vancouver. Devcich, with 203 runs, is Toronto's leading run scorer and Smith is at number three, with two half-centuries in the tournament. In the middle order, Kieron Pollard and Johnson Charles can also be destructive on their day. Pollard has been impressive among the bowlers as well, with four wickets in five games.
Apart from him, Toronto Nationals will bank on Mohammad Sami to do the job as he claimed three wickets in the previous fixture against Montreal Tigers and will be coming into this game high on confidence.
Expected Playing XI: Darren Sammy (C), Mohammad Sami, Kamran Akmal, Johnson Charles, Steven Smith, Kesrick Williams, Anton Devcich, Usama Mir, Kieron Pollard, Nitish Kumar and Navneet Singh Dhaliwal