NZ v WI, 1st T20I – Fantasy Cricket Tips

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by Karthik Atchuta

Date: 27 Nov, 2020 – 11:30am IST
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland

NZ T20I Squad: Tim Southee (c), Hamish Bennett, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Seifert (wk), Ross Taylor

WI T20I Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams

Fantasy XI:

Batsmen: Martin Guptill (c), Glenn Phillips, Kieron Pollard, Ross Taylor, Shimron Hetmyer

WK Batsman: Nicholas Pooran

All Rounders: Fabien Allen, Jimmy Neesham (vc)

Bowlers: Kesrick Williams, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee

I am going with Martin Guptill as captain – purely based on his ground stats and the destructive batsman he can be at the top. He averages 43.92 at Eden Park scoring 571 runs in his 14 innings – at a strike rate of nearly 170. Powering up the team with Jimmy Neesham as vice captain for his bowling and slog hitting abilities which can get us some crucial points.

I was tempted to go with Brandon King in the batsmen list but since I had to pick a minimum of 3 bowlers I had to drop him out. If you are playing fantasy where it allows you any combination, then Brandon King can be a handy pick. Tim Seifert was another player in the reckoning who I could not fit though he has that X-factor capability.

Bowling wise I went with Kesrick Williams, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee – all of them bowl in slog overs and can get those free wickets. Given the tentative nature of West Indies batting and the form Kieron Pollard is in, I was almost tempted to make him the vice captain.

Glenn Phillips is coming from a more than a decent Caribbean Premier League and has faced these West Indies bowlers which can go to his advantage. X-factors in the XI for me are Nicholas Pooran and Fabien Allen – if you trust enough you can get them the captain and vice captain tags as they form the critical cogs in West Indian wheel.

Probable XIs:

West Indies: Brandon King, Andre Fletcher (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard (c), Fabien Allen, Keemo Paul, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams, Sheldon Cottrell

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Glenn Phillips, Devon Conway, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert (wk), Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamiesom, Tim Southee (c), Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi