VG Last Five Matches: W W L L L (Avg Score For 84, Avg Score Against 88)
ARS Last Five Matches: W W W L W (Avg Score For 101, Avg Score Against 81)
VFB GELSENKIRCHEN (VG)
Captain: Swapnil Varhade
Wicketkeeper: Swapnil Varhade
Projected Top Four: Suliman Hugakhil, Mirwali Jabarkheel, Swapnil Varhade, Sahalom Dhaly
Projected Opening Bowlers: Arfan Malik, Shrutarv Awasthi
Spin Options: Shahidullah Arman, Vignaesh Sankaran, Anil Kavi
VFB GELSENKIRCHEN Key Players:
Suliman Hugakhil, dynamic all-rounder who adds value with his abilities not only with bat and ball, but also with his agile fielding, racked up 69 runs from four innings including a valuable contribution of 32 runs in the second game.
Shahidullah Arman has been mighty good with the ball scalping seven wickets conceding at just 6.63 runs per over, with best figures of 2-9 against BUB.
Swapnil Varhade, captain, plays the anchor role holding the innings together, giving others the freedom to play dynamic innings, mustered a 27-ball 47 against BUB on Tuesday to bag his first man of the match award, has racked up 114 runs and is top scorer for his side.
Sahalom Dhaly impressed with both bat and ball on Monday, has scored 85 runs from five innings, and has picked up four wickets. He also bagged back-to-back man-of-the-match awards for his significant contributions.
AACHEN RISING STARS (ARS)
Captain: Varun Reddy
Wicketkeeper: Sagar Kataria
Projected Top Four: Varun Reddy, Sagar Kataria, Faheem Jan, Gulistan Muhammad
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ahmad Shirzad, Faheem Jan
Spin Options: Varun Reddy, Dhaval Goyani, Asif Rauf
AACHEN RISING STARS Key Players:
Sagar Kataria, classy batsman, very consistent, leading run scorer for the club last year, scored a well compiled 55 with shots all around the park against BUB on Wednesday earning the man of the match award, has racked up 124 runs from six innings.
Faheem Jan, all-rounder, can swing the ball both ways and hit a long ball when needed, has racked up 137 runs including an unbeaten 53 off just 20 balls vs KCH, has also bagged two man of the match awards.
Osman Shirzad, top wicket taker for ARS scalping six victims from six matches including a best return of 3-4, has been economical as well conceding under seven runs per over.
Varun Reddy, captain, will open the innings for his side, a good timer of the ball and bowls some tidy off-spin, has amassed 158 runs from six matches including 12 maximos.
After a promising start to the tournament with three straight wins, VfB Gelsenkirchen have lost their last three, seriously denting their NRR in the process. VG need to win both these games to jump into second spot ahead of ARS.
Match Prediction: Aachen Rising Stars to beat VG in this all important clash.
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