Caribbean Premier League Tips: Trinbago Knight Riders have nous to beat St Lucia Kings in semi-final

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Pooran is 11/4 for top TKR bat

Ed Hawkins has the best stats, pitch report, strategies and a bet at 10s for the action from Providence on Saturday

  • Winner of Saturday's semi-final will meet Warriors in final

  • TKR experience is key to their chances of victory
  • Kings may not be suited to Providence pitch

  • Extreme runs unders is a play with attritional game likely

  • Jones underrated for bat order at appealing 10/111.00

Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Kings
Saturday 20 September, 01:00
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Kings CPL team news

Trinbago snappped a three-game losing streak by beating Falcons in the eliminator. They go again here for a final spot against a side which beat them by seven wickets last time.

There is a sense with TKR that, because they have such vast experience, they can really turn it on when it counts. Nic Pooran, Colin Munro, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are as cool as it gets under pressure. Against Falcons they won by nine wickets with a stiff chase against them. Pooran finally came to the party, hammering 90 from 53 when it counted.

Two team changes which we like and don't respectively are USA pacer Saurabh Netravalkar adding potency and Darren Bravo turning up from nowhere. He will bat only in a disaster.

Probable TKR XI: Munro, Hales, Pooran, Carty, Pollard, Russell, Darren Bravo, Akeal, Narine, Netravalkar, Usman

Kings have lost their last three, including missing the chance to go straight to the final when they failed to chase 158 against Guyana. It has to be said they don't look set up for this type of surface.

Tymal Mills has been added to the XI and he was joined by the recalled Alzarri Joseph against Guyana. Pace on was a delight for Guyana as the pair went for more than nine and more than 11 respectively. Kings may need to look for bowlers with more variation. Both Mills and Joseph can't play for our money. Bring back Delano Potgieter for some canny overs and they have more control.

Possible Kings XI: Seifert, Charles, Auguste, Chase, Jones, David, Wiese, Pierre, Joseph, Mills, Shamsi


Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Kings CPL pitch report

This will be game eight at Providence. There are good wickets for batting and tired, slow stodgy ones on the square. But such is the traffic now that the two could be meeting somewhere in the middle, so to speak. It would not be a surprise if we saw another low-scoring contest. A war of attrition.

Extreme unders could be a smart way to go. We have already seen GAW rolled for 99. Hitting the Betfair Exchange for cheap lays at 120, 1130 and 140 runs could be the way to go.  There are thunderstorms forecast but they should have cleared by game time.


Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Kings CPL match prediction

TKR are as short as 1.654/6 to book a final against Guyana, with Kings 2.265/4 and climbing. We can't agree with such hot favouritism. But we can agree that TKR probably have the edge here.

All that wily experience could pay off against a Kings team which is suffering a crisis of confidence at the wrong time. Teams need longevity and varied skill to win the CPL. Kings managed it last term but there is concern they are just not set up to win on these type of tired surfaces given their last selection.

They have the most batting power in the competition. It is hard, however, to come from flatter, true tracks to hit with with abandon on something completely different. TKR know they can afford to bide their time and pick their shots. For this reason we were hoping to get around 1.855/6 on TKR, which would have been fair.

We expect TKR to win but are not preared to back them at the odds. If they get up to our mark in-play that is when we will strike.


Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Kings CPL player bets

Aaron Jones batted at No 4 last time for Kings so the 10/111.00 is of note with Betfair Sportsbook for top bat. That is a rick we probably have to get involved with.

Khary Pierre won that market at 100s and is slashed to 25s. For TKR we've been backing Akeal Hosein at 100s but that's now cut to 50s. Pooran is 11/43.75


Now read Stick To Cricket Episode 13: Special guest Boycott says Australia are there for the taking in Ashes


Recommended bets

(0.25pts) Back Aaron Jones top Kings bat 10/111.00

Ed Hawkins

Ed is an award-winning cricket writer and is Betfair's resident tipster on every single cricket tournament we cover.

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