Empire CC Lions vs GYM Helsinki Gymkhana Final, FPL T20
Empire CC Lions and GYM Helsinki Gymkhana meet in the Finnish Championship Final after both beating table-topping SKK Rapids to advance through the play-offs. The match, at the Kerava National Cricket Ground, takes place on Sunday August 30 and the live action starts at 15:00 local time.
Empire CC Lions, who lost in last year’s final, finished second in the table but recovered their form just in time to see off SKK Rapids in the first qualifier. They hit 165/8 from their 20 overs, and restricted the Rapids to just 53/7 from eight overs in a rain-affected reply. Sohaib Tahir Qureshi (59) and Amjad Sher (60) starred with the bat before Sher claimed 2-3 with the ball.
GYM Helsinki Gymkhana’s form also dipped at the end of the group stage as they finished fourth, but they blasted their way past Helsinki in the eliminator after smashing a stunning 214/4 – Arslan Gondal hammered 92 from 47 balls and Saif Ur Rehman hit 55 before they sealed a 39-run win. In the second qualifier, they then chased 137 in just 17.2 overs to beat SKK Rapids by seven wickets – Saif Ur Rehman this time hammering 79*.
Empire CC Lions vs GYM Helsinki Gymkhana Live streaming
Live streaming: Fan Code, Cricket Finland
Toss Prediction
GYM Helsinki Gymkhana are in good batting form and could elect to bat first.
Weather Report
A wet start to the day should subside for a cloudy – but hopefully dry – afternoon.
Pitch Condition
Wet weather can slow it down, but Kerava’s artificial wicket has favoured batting more recently.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for Empire CC Lions vs GYM Helsinki Gymkhana, Finnish Premier League 2020
Empire Cricket Club Team News & Playing 11
ECC Team News
Raaz Mohammad’s availability appears to be the key selection issue for Empire CC Lions. He is among their leading wicket-takers despite missing the last two games and he could be the only change for this final. That would probably mean Amjad Sher moving back up the order too.
ECC Key Players
- Mahesh Tambe: Excellent with bat and especially ball this season. He has 27 wickets to his name and he has also scored 221.
- Amjad Sher: The captain is another key all-rounder, having hit 275 runs with a strike rate of 146.28 and he is second behind Mahesh Tambe on 24 wickets for the season.
- Shoaib Tahir Qureshi: Hit his second consecutive half-century in the Qualifier and moved to 296 runs in the process.
ECC Team Form
After a convincing win against FPC in the final league game, in which Shoaib Tahir Qureshi and Amjad Sher starred with the bat, both men were key again to their victory last time out. Qureshi hit 59 and Sher scored 60 in a total of 165/8 from their 20 overs against SKK Rapids. They then limited the Rapids to just 53/7 from their eight overs.
Empire Cricket Club Predicted Playing 11
Vaanraj Padhaal, Amjad Sher (c), Jonathan Scamans (wk), Yasir Ali, Shoaib Qureshi, Mahesh Tambe, Raaz Mohammad, Kushagra Bhatnagar, Muhammad Imran, Ravi Kumar, Abdul Ghafar
Helsinki Gymkhana Team News & Playing 11
GYM Team News
Two excellent performances in the play-offs could mean an unchanged team from the win against SKK for this final.
GYM Key Players
- Saif-ur-Rehman: Hit 55 and 79* in the last two matches to help GYM Helsinki Gymkhana through the play-offs and move to 461 runs at an average of 51.22 in this tournament.
- Muhammad Ghawas: Took a stunning four wickets when these teams last met and he now has 23 in total for the tournament.
- Faisal Shahzad: The captain also starred when these teams last met and is just a single wicket below Ghawas overall on 22.
GYM Team Form
GYM Helsinki Gymkhana have returned to form in spectacular fashion, ending a three-match losing streak with back-to-back wins in the play-offs. Arslan Gondal smashed 92 and Saif Ur Rehman 55 in a total of 214/4 as they beat Helsinki by 39 runs in the eliminator. Saif Ur Rehman then hit 79 as they reached 139/3 in 17.2 overs to beat SKK Rapids by seven wickets last time out too.
Helsinki Gymkhana Predicted Playing 11
Arslan Gondal, Saif Ur Rehman, Pankaj Saharan, Ali Masood, Muhammad Ghawas, Atti Ur Rehman, Bilal Masud, Brar Simranjeet (wk), Faisal Shazad (c), Javed Jan, Shahid Gondal
Empire Cricket Club vs Helsinki Gymkhana Head to Head
In a rain-reduced match, Empire CC Lions beat GYM Helsinki Gymkhana comfortably in their first meeting of 2020. They restricted them to 97/6 from 15 overs and chased it down in 12.1 overs to win by five wickets. GYM got their revenge in the second meeting, however. After hitting 131/8 from their 20 overs thanks to Ali Masood’s 61, Faisal Shahzad (3-27) and Muhammad Ghawas (4-11) helped bowl Empire out for 88 in reply.
🏆 Empire Cricket Club vs Helsinki Gymkhana Prediction
Empire Lions and GYM Helsinki Gymkhana both saw off the league leaders in the play-offs, but the Lions have been in excellent form – and generally more consistent form. They were second in the table but they are due a win after their Final defeat last season.
Leave Your Comment
We do our best to give you most accurate & useful match predictions and would love to hear from you. Let us know if we need to improve. Share your own predictions for the matches. Let's talk: