Guyana Amazon Warriors will take on Barbados Royals in the 27th match of the Caribbean Premier League 2024 on Thursday. With playoff spots already fixed, the teams now will fight for the top two spots.
Guyana Amazon Warriors will arrive into this match on the back of comprehensive wins over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Antigua & Barbuda Falcons.
Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz has landed in Guyana and will be available for the Guyana Amazon Warriors match against Barbados Royals this evening at Providence.
The Afghan right-hander is in prime form, hitting 105 and 89 in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, leading his country to a 2-1 series success.
Prior to leaving for that series, Gurbaz scored 136 runs in three innings for Warriors with a highest of 69.
Those runs have come at a strike rate of 194, while he has struck 15 sixes.
Guyana Amazon Warriors are making good progress in the second half of the tournament, registering back-to-back wins against Nevis Patriots and Barbuda Falcons.
Bowling was on point in those wins as they successfully defended 137 and 135, interestingly they got all 10 wickets in each game which shows how good they are as a unit. Spinners in particular have been in top form in the CPL 2024 with Imran Tahir, Gudakesh Motie, and Moeen Ali getting 27 wickets between them.
Focusing on their batting, Shimron Hetmyer leads the way, scoring 229 runs while Rahmanullah Gurbaz who missed the middle phase of the tournament due to his national commitments is their second best performer with 136 runs.
Kiwi batter Tim Robinson who came as a temporary replacement player will make way for Gurbaz. With 5 wins and 2 losses, they are placed 2nd in the standings with 10 points.
Probable Playing XI:
1. Quinton de Kock, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Alick Athanaze, Dwaine Pretorius, Jason Holder, Moeen Ali (c), Imran Tahir, Keshav Maharaj, Gudakesh Motie, Maheesh Theekshana (vc).
2. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Dwaine Pretorius (c), Jason Holder (vc), Moeen Ali, Romario Shepherd, Kadeem Alleyne, Gudakesh Motie, Obed McCoy, Maheesh Theekshana.