2nd SEMI FINAL - MATCH 46 (ECS21.481) ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS (AUK) v SUPER KINGS (SKI) 0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
AUK Last Five Matches: W W W L W (Avg Score For 80, Avg Score Against 69)
SKI Last Five Matches: W W W W W (Avg Score For 116, Avg Score Against 73)
Captain: Sujesh Appu
Wicketkeeper: Ajay John
Projected Top Four: Basil George, Samuel Stanislaus, Nithin Babu, Al Ameen Abdul
Projected Opening Bowlers: Sujesh Appu, Bose Paul
Spin Options: Samuel Stanislaus
ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS Key Players:
Basil George, powerhouse of AUK, has the ability to smash all around the park. Has mustered 109 runs from five matches, scoring over 71% of his runs in boundaries. Bagged back-to-back man of the match awards on Tuesday for his all-round performance with bat and ball. Crucially for AUK, Basil will be back in the side after missing the quarter-final.
Samuel Stanislaus, Knights Mr Dependable, leading run-scorer in the previous edition for AUK and is heading the run scoring charts again this season racking up 128 runs in six matches, is also considered the best Knights fielder.
Nithin Babu, the right hander has been in good nick of late racking up 80 runs in eight innings, will be the key man in the middle order considering several injury woes in the AUK squad.
Sujesh Appu, the AUK captain has put his hand up in the absence of several key players and is leading the wicket taking charts for his team scalping nine victims in nine matches. He also returned man of the match performance of 2-5 in the quarter-final.
Justin Shaju, one to watch with the ball, can swing the ball around at a decent pace, picked up seven wickets in the previous edition with best figures of 3-24. Looked sharp with the ball picking up four wickets and conceding under six runs an over, has also mustered 82 runs with the bat.
Captain: Bikram Arora
Wicketkeeper: Affy Khan
Projected Top Four: Gopal Chaturvedi, Affy Khan, Varun Prasath, Bikram Arora
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ashok Bishnoi, Varun Prasath
Spin Options: Amar Sharma, Bikram Arora
SUPER KINGS Key Players:
Affy Khan, big hitter, can take the game away from the opposition in the blink of an eye, scored his maiden ECS fifty against Gozo hammering an unbeaten 24-ball 79. He is the second highest scorer for SKI with 194 runs at a staggering strike rate of 259.
Varun Prasath, the left-hander is leading the scoring sheets this season, plundering 293 runs from nine games at a strike rate of 197. He also has the highest individual score of the tournament - a blistering 39-ball 98* vs Overseas. Has also hit the most sixes in the tournament with 28 hits over the ropes.
Bikram Arora, SKI and Malta national team captain, has racked up 158 runs from seven matches including a 21-ball 55 in the record breaking match against Gozo.
Ashok Bishnoi, leads the bowling attack for SKI, swings the ball away from right handers at pace, is the top wicket taker so far scalping 15 wickets from seven matches. Returned second best figures in ECS history, 6-3, against Gozo earning a man of the match award as well.
Yash Singh brings a lot of value to the SKI side with his clever spin bowling. He has picked up 11 wickets in eight matches at a splendid economy rate of just 6.37.
AUK had little trouble disposing of Mater Dei, but are likely to find in-form Super Kings an entirely different proposition. Super Kings have looked almost invincible so far with nine straight wins. It’s gonna take a monumental performance from AUK to challenge the favourites here.
Match Prediction: Super Kings (SKI) to extend their winning run to double digits and seal a place in the final.
