By no means will this match be a straightforward one though. TSK are up against a side that’s on an incredible six-game winning run. The defending champions lost the opening match of the tournament but have been on a roll since.Just a few days ago, they inflicted a morale-crushing loss on TSK when they chased down 221. This time the conditions are unlikely to produce such high scores and that is something TSK will look to capitalise on
When: July 2 at 7 pm local time (July 3 at 4:30 am IST)
Where: Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida
What to expect: Teams will have to adapt, having played a few high-scoring games in Dallas. As witnessed in the SFU vs Orcas game, batters could find life difficult, and scores could be well under the 200-mark. Even though there could be some rain in the noon, the weather for the evening looks clear.
Team News
Texas Super Kings
TSK will likely stick with the same team that beat MINY in the last game.
Probable XI: Smit Patel(w), Faf du Plessis(c), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Marcus Stoinis, Shubham Ranjane, Donovan Ferreira, Calvin Savage, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Nandre Burger, Zia-ul-Haq
Washington Freedom
If Freedom do contemplate a change to their winning combination, it could be the addition of Mark Chapman in place of Jack Edwards.
Probable XI: Mitchell Owen, Rachin Ravindra, Andries Gous(w), Glenn Maxwell(c), Jack Edwards/Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Ian Holland, Saurabh Netravalkar, Amila Aponso
With Faf du Plessis out of the contest due to a minor injury, Marcus Stoinis led TSK and opened the batting alongside Daryl Mitchell. The innings got off to a jittery start for the men in yellow as Stoinis edged his second ball behind with his side managing just five runs in the first over. Shubham Ranjane then struck two sixes in the next over but Mitchell struggled to get going and was retired out at the end of the third over with TSK on 34/1.
That move proved to be a masterstroke as TSK scored 53 runs off the final 12 deliveries as Donovan Ferreira and Ranjane put on an impressive display. Ranjane hit two fours and a six in the penultimate over in which Ferreira also cleared the ropes once. But it was in the final over where the South African launched himself by taking on Mitchell Owen for a hat-trick of sixes before closing out the innings with another big one to race to 37* off just 9 balls.
Even though Rachin Ravindra hit a four and a six to begin with in the run chase, the task turned extremely difficult when Nandre Burger removed the New Zealander and Glenn Maxwell off consecutive deliveries. Akeal Hosein then bowled a terrific over that began with a six but finished with five dot balls including a wicket. Noor Ahmed and Hosein then finished proceedings by sending down tidy overs as Freedom ended up scoring only half the runs their opponents made on the night.
Brief scores: Texas Super Kings 87/2 in 5 overs (Shubham Ranjane 39*, Donovan Ferreira 37*) beat Washington Freedom 44/4 in 5 overs (Nandre Burger 2/12) by 43 runs – Match reduced to 5 overs per side due to rain