The ICL championship has reached the final stage with Lahore Badshahs and Hyderabad fighting for the crown. Both teams are playing top class cricket and sparks are expected to fly, when the teams clash today in Ahmedabad

The Hyderabad Heroes have so far won six of their eight league matches and top the points table, while the Lahore Badshahs have lost won five and are placed second.


Interestingly, last year in the inaugural edition of the ICL, these two teams reached the finals and the Hyderabad Heroes had won the championship. Lahore Badshahs captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is highly optimistic about lifting the trophy this time. With three finals to be played, Inzamam feels that today’s match will be crucial as it will give the winning team an upper hand. However, the Badshahs captain said that they don’t have any specific plans for the Hyderabad Heroes.

Badhshahs have performed very well in the league stage both with bat and ball. Especially in batting, the in-form openers Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat badly punish the opposition bowlers with their power-packed shots. Besides, batsman like Naved-ul-Hasan, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammed Yousuf, provide great depth to the middle order. Based on the recent performances of the Lahore Badhshah batsmen, it can be said that they can tear apart any attack on a given day. In bowling department, Naved-ul-Hasan and Saqlain Mushtaq are leading the Badhshahs, the seamer-spinner duo do not allow the rivals to score freely.


Infact, the Heroes Captain Chris Harris himself accepted that the explosive opening pair of Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat certainly provides an edge to the Badhshahs. But Harris said that the Badshah openers also provide a lot of opportunities, while scoring in hurry and his team would like to grab those chances with both hands.


Despite the absence of stars, Hyderabad Heroes too have performed brilliantly throughout the tournament and they have a balanced team for the fast-paced version of the game. Batsmen like Ambatti Rayudu and all-rounder Nicky Boje have been consistently scoring runs for them, while Stuart Binny and Ibrahim Khaleel have the power to hit huge shots.


Importantly, the past records of ICL favour the Hyderabad Heroes. Besides beating the Badshahs last year in the ICL finals, the Heroes have beaten the Badshahs this year in the league stage and also in the finals of the Edelweiss 20s Challenge in April this year. Let us see whether the Heroes can stop the Badshahs from snatching the crown or not.