West Indies has been on an absolute juggernaut since the start of this year. Not only as a team but the Caribbean players individually have wreaked havoc wherever they got to play cricket. They showed they were worth every penny during the Indian Premier League, displayed a semblance of their bygone self against the Proteas and when that seemed not enough to them, they decided to hand the defeat to one of the favorites of this World Cup; Australia. Everything looks to be in their favor. Stars are finally perfectly aligned for them. Now is the time to cash on these opportunities and make the world forget the last two miserable World Cups.
For Papua New Guinea it would be an uphill task to take on the Windies. In all fairness, it’s not a jaw-dropping revelation. After all, it’s their second time competing in a mega-event. Unless things go wrong to a fictional (and farcical) level, PNG can not be expected to become a cause of distress for Rovman Powell-led men.
Team Overview:
Have a glance at the Windies squad, google any player from there, and find myriads of video links to his explosive batting. Such has been this year for the West Indian batters. During the recent series against South Africa on their home turf, both of the probable openers for West Indies including Johson Charles and Brandon King have already shown a glimpse of how they plan to take on the bowlers in this tournament. Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, and Shimron Hetmyer have all maintained a strike rate north of 150 during the recently concluded India Premier League. Even during the warm-up game against Australia, on pitches less favorable to batters than the IPL decks, Nicholas Pooran went all guns blazing and scored 79 off 25.
Their bowling unit, though, is not as impressive. It would be a gigantic task for the spinners to assist the out-of-form pacers and restrict the flow of runs as much as possible. Even PNG has a good bowling unit stacked with pace-bowling options including Norman Vanua, John Kariko, and Chad Soper. If they are hoping to create an upset, they need to devise a blue-print surrounding their bowling attack.
Head-to-Head Matches:
It would be a maiden encounter for both teams in the shortest format of the game. They have never faced each other in any international fixture.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Rain is likely to pay both teams a visit at the Providence Stadium, Guyana. However, it is unlikely to linger for a long period. But it could affect the way the pitch normally behaves. In the humid weather of the Caribbean city, fast bowlers can get assistance. The team winning the toss would fancy fielding first and utilizing the early moisture to restrict the opposition to a below-par total. The usual first-inning score in this ground is somewhere between 160 to 180 runs, however the fiery West Indian batters like to show no regard for such figures.
Prediction:
Everything points in one direction and that is the West Indian team will not only win this fixture but might do it with a significant margin to get an early boost in NRR. If this did occur, it would be a cause of worry for the remaining teams in the group C.
Where to Watch:
You can watch the games on the following platforms as per your region:
- India – Star Sports
- Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming) and Tamasha app (Live streaming)
- USA and Canada – Willow TV
- England – Sky Sports Network
- Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
- New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
- Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
