The co-hosts USA get hosted by the West Indian team in a game of survival. Both teams have tasted defeat in their respective first games of this stage. Though it was the first defeat for the Windies in this tournament, it still mongered worries for them. The greatest of all those worries is the injury of Brandon King. The West Indian opener suffered a side strain during the game against England a few days ago and had to leave the ground immediately. Although he was not blazing on all of the guns in the tournament, having scored an average of 14 at a paltry 114 strike rate in the first four games, tables seemed to have turned for him the way he played against England. But no time for the West Indies to lament that now. This game needs to be won if they want to keep their hopes of becoming the first team to win the trophy thrice alive.
The USA scare forced Pakistan out of the tournament in the worst way possible. But since that upset, victories have been elusive. Technically, they have only won two games in this tournament and it is about time they stamp another one next to their name before the team gets pushed to the brink of elimination. But coming to this stage is nothing short of dream stuff for a debutant. As per every prediction, this game was to be between Pakistan and the hosts, West Indies. But it’s not. Let the world hear. It’s not. It’s the USA that have made it through to this stage and just a little push from here and a little help from there could still turn the scripts for them.
Team Overview:
Brandon King, obviously, needs a replacement and Shimron Hetmyer might be the one filling in for him. But that will not be it. Coming unscathed from the group stages, the team could have carried that dominance, even against England. But two things stung them and they need to be addressed ASAP. The first is bowling. They could only manage to get a couple of scalps for 180 runs against England. Romario Shepherd conceded the most expensive over after getting hit for 30 runs. This was an absolute thrashing even by Saint Lucia’s standards. The other thing is their slow batting approach. During their batting in the game against England, 51 balls were let go without scoring runs off them, this hurt them when England easily chased the target with 15 balls to spare. That’s criminal, especially on a batting-friendly pitch.
USA’s batters would get a lot on the Caribbean pitches. Andries Gous has already shown what he is capable of achieving with the willow and Aaron Jones, after a duck against the South African team, would want to continue partying with his teammate. While it is uncertain whether Monank Patel will jog back into the eleven, Jones would want to get one win as a captain, and that too in a match that matters a lot. Steven Taylor is hoping for his friendship with Akeal Hosein to come in handy.
Head-to-head Matches:
While many American players have a Caribbean heritage and have played alongside many players in the current Windies squad, both sides have not encountered each other in T20Is.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Humidity will fill the air in Bridgetown and so the pacers can be expected to get assistance. The pitch is of the sort that offers something to everyone. The tournament has seen some high-scoring games here and another thrashing fest should not surprise anyone.
Prediction:
It is West Indies’ home ground and they would make sure that they don’t miss out on this chance of making their semi-finals chances better. This makes them more likely to get over the line in this clash.
Where to Watch:
- 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
