By Tim Cutler
City Kaitak v Cali-Mex Hung Hom JD Jaguars – 2PM HKT
Last year’s corresponsding fixture saw the first century by a HK player – and the second of the Blitz – by Nizakat Khan who carried his bat for 120* from 62 balls. However it was the amazing hitting from CKT Kepper/Bat Nicholas Pooran that brought CKT home in their chase of 194 with 17 balls remaining after a great start by Kyle Coetzer (58 from 45) and Waqas Barkat (32 from 17). Scorecard here.
This one really is too close to call. Both teams have recruited well both locally and overseas. The form of Anshuman Rath alongside Kyle Coetzer is a very attractive combination and if these two fire, anything is possible! While the all round nous of Sammy, Botha and van der Merwe will be what gets HHJ home. Van der Merwe’s all round talent is exactly what HHJ need to solidify their XI, and I see Roelof as the difference between the sides. The combination of him, Nadeem & Johan Botha will be hard to get away.
If CKT win it will be on the back of a great start for Badree at his new franchise and Sohail Tanvir running through the HHJ lineup.
CTK vs HHJ – Likely XI’s:
(Dream11 in bold – plus one 8 pointer to complete 11 – I’ve taken a bit of a gamble and made Coetzer C and van der Merwe VC)
| City Kaitak | Cali-Mex Hung Hom JD Jaguars |
| Anshuman Rath | Riki Wessels (Eng) |
| Kyle Coetzer (Sco) | Nizakat Khan |
| Jamie Atkinson (W/K) | Kinchit Shah (c) |
| Ravi Bopara | Roelof van der Merwe (Ned) |
| Waqas Barkat | Darren Sammy (WI) |
| Umar Mohammad | Johan Botha (RSA/Sydney Sixers) |
| Sohail Tanvir (Pak) | Scott Mckechnie (W/K) |
| Rayad Emrit (WI) | Ben Laughlin (Aus) |
| Aizaz Khan | Nadeem Ahmed, |
| Samuel Badree | Tanveer Ahmed |
| Raag Kapur or Sigfried Wei | Ninad Shah OR Damien Yee |
Fantasy tips
Naturally, considering the talent on show, it would be wise to pick maximum amount of overseas players as seen from the previous edition that they get the maximum game time in the middle. Aizaz Khan is a value-for-money pick for Dream11 teams. With so many all-rounders, if able to squeeze in the points to make up the XI, Rath could be replaced by Bopara as well as both provide good option with the ball as well.
The other wicketkeeper is likely to be Scott Mckechnie so this could also free up a half point if you are trying to squeeze in a star. Remember – each franchise has to play the HK Dragon player in at least one match, so we MAY see this in game one (just to complicate your fantasy picks even more!)
Alternate players choices for Captain and Vice-captain would be Nizakat Khan, who starred last year in their clash. Hong Kong players have recently performed well on their tour to Australia with Aizaz Khan starring with the ball. Dark-horses for this clash could be in the form of Rikki Wessels/Jamie Atkinson. Good luck!
