The unimportant and last group stage match will be played between the two unbeaten teams so far – West Indies and Afghanistan.
The match will be played on 18th of June at Gros Islet. Although the game will not hold much value, it will be an interesting contest between the West Indies fire-packed batting lineup and Afghanistan’s potent bowling attack.
Team Overview:
The ongoing World Cup has produced interesting contests so far and the 8 teams including Australia, England, United States of America, Bangladesh, West Indies, Afghanistan, South Africa and India have proceeded to the Super Eight round of the tournament.
Talking about the game, West Indies have shown dominating performances so far. Their spinners have clicked, the bowling department did well, and the batting prowess clicked too. Particularly the knock of Sherfane Rutherford against New Zealand changed the dynamics of the game in no time even though at one stage it would have thought that the home side may lose the game.
Nevertheless, the captain Rovman Powell is yet to fire in this World Cup. He has scored only 39 runs in 3 games at a strike rate of 105. So, right before the Super Eight, if Powell gets his form back, would be a great sign for the West Indies. The side will be facing USA, England, and South Africa in the Super Eight.
Afghanistan has been a force to reckon with. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have made the batting line-up stable whereas Fazalhaq Farooqi has been the pick of the bowlers for the Afghanistan side. Rashid Khan also is in form and is famous for taking wickets in the middle overs.
While West Indies have two left-arm spinners in their lineup and Rahmanullah has a strike rate of 148 against the left-arm spin so it will be an exciting match-up.
In his T20i career, Rashid Khan has taken only 9 wickets in 8 matches against West Indies but a batting full of right handers, Khan will be licking his lips to have a perfect outing against this batting prowess’ side.
In the Super Eight, Afghanistan will be facing Australia, India, and Bangladesh so they will have to play classical and top-notch cricket to make it into the semi-finals!
Pitch and weather report:
The pitch has been batting friendly so far with teams scoring 180 or more in three outings out of four. Also at this venue the team prefers to bowl first. However, this venue has produced varied results so far. Team batting first have won six games while the chasing teams have also won the same number of games at this venue.
There are no rain predictions during the game, but the weather is supposed to be windy.
Predictions:
Although both of the sides are in form and unbeaten so far, West Indies have a strong chance to overpower Rashid Khan’s Afghanistan in this upcoming encounter.
Head-to-head records:
Both of the sides have played 7 T20Is so far in which West Indies have won 4 and Afghanistan clinched victory in 3 games.
Where to watch:
Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming), Tamasha app (Live streaming), Tapmad (live streaming)
India – Star Sports
England – SkySport Network
USA and Canada (Willow TV)
Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
UK & Northern Ireland – Sky Sports
Sri Lanka – Maharaja TV
Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
