MI New York v San Francisco Unicorns MLC Tips: Unicorns to knock out New York

• MINY lucky to have made it this far

• Winner goes into play-off v Texas

• Unicorns lose three key players

• Betfair Predicts is your essential guide to England v India this summer

MI New York v San Francisco Unicorns
Thursday 10 July, 01:00
TV: Live on Willow

MI New York v San Francisco Unicorns MLC team news

MI New York scraped into the play-offs and it is fair to say that they only made it to the last four because they weren't quite as bad a team as LA Knight Riders and Seattle Orcas.

They are reliant on Nic Pooran for impetus at No 3 but he hasn't really got going in the tournament. Last time out against Washington Freedom they rested Trent Boult, Kieron Pollard, Quinton de Kock, George Linde and Michael Bracewell. Unsurprisingly they got beat. Fabian Allen has replaced Naveen-ul-Haq.

Possible MINY XI:  Monank, De Kock, Pooran, Tajinder, Bracewell, Pollard, Linde,/Allen, Boult, Kenjige, Ugarkar, Adil

San Francisco Unicorns have recived a triple whammy ahead of the play-off, losing three key performers. They are without Finn Allen, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. He has struck at 225 this season with 333 runs at 37. It is a major blow. Haris Rauf had earlier gone home with a hamstring problem while Romario Shepherd has departed for the Global Super League.

Allen's spot may go to Tim Seifert, who has a strike rate of just 105. Ben Lister, the Kiwi pacer, has been called up as Rauf's replacement. Shepherd, who won the IPL, is harder to replace. Cooper Connolly and Corey Anderson, who have each played only three games, are in contention. 

Possible Unicorns XI:  Short, Seifert, Fraser-McGurk, Krisnamurthi, anderson/Connolly, Hassan, Hammad, Bartlett, Gore, Couch, Lister

MI New York v San Francisco Unicorns MLC pitch report

We know what the pitch is like at Grand Prairie. But the weather is the big concern. The washout in Texas-Washington, which sent the latter to the final, was unexpected and although the forecast is currently clear that could change quickly. There were thunderstorms set for Wednesday.

In the league stage more than 190 was busted eight times in the 12. Whether the rain or moisture has changed the pitch remains to be seen. We are probably fighting shy of overs as a result. Under 195.5 MINY total match runs is very tempting given their poor bating record.

For sixes lines over 19.5 has won seven times this term. Over 30.5 fours is an evens chance. Sportsbook offer 5/61.84 and 10/111.91 . There is the potential for a short 55m boundary from the Race Track End to right-handers on the leg side.  

MI New York v San Francisco Unicorns MLC match prediction

MINY are a very poor team indeed. They won only three of their ten matches and made the top four by dint of a superior net run rate to Orcas. In the head-to-head they lost by 47 runs and three wickets.

They also failed to win a single game at the Grand Prairie as their lack of nous and application came to the fore on a wicket which required both in abundance. They conceded a massive 246 against Unicorns in a contest which could be a significant pointer.

Finn Allen was not available for that game and Seifert came in for the opening role. He helped get Unicorns off to a decent start in the powerplay. That means we're not too worried about the Unicorns player drain.

At 1.845/6 we're not even sure the market is aware yet of the changes so we could in fact get 1.9010/11. If they were to bat first it is likely they are much shorter at the break. A washout would see Unicorns progress as they finished higher in the table.

MI New York v San Francisco Unicorns player bets

Matt Short hit 91 from 43 in that earlier match-up at the venue so he is likely to be well-supported for some sort of repeat. The man of the match price of 13/27.50 is likely to see business. 

With Naveen listed by Sportsbook for top MINY bowler one could steal some value on Boult at 11/43.75 as he will almost certainly take a cut. If they are to cause a shock then surely Pooran needs to deliver. He is 10/111.00 for man of the match. The rationale that it's the same bet as the match odds doesn' quite hold but we don't hate it. 

Now read Ed's tips for the third Test between England and India