The unpredictable, the athletics, the giant hitters – West Indies (WI) are well and truly back to their T20 era, right before the T20 World Cup. A side who had played below par and questionable cricket in the last two editions of the T20 World Cup, are in red-hot form for the upcoming mega event, which is scheduled to kickstart from today.
The host, West Indies, will face Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Providence. PNG might not appear as strong opposition as the other sides, but such is the unpredictable nature of this format that you cannot write off any of the sides. However, WI will be eager to kickstart their WC campaign in style.
Team Overview:
West Indies:
In the 2021 World Cup, the Maroon Caps only won one of the five games to make a Super 12s exist. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, Nicholas Pooran’s men faced a premature exit as they failed to make it into the Super 12s, after losing to Ireland and Scotland in the opening round.
They will be heading to the World Cup in positive spirits, as they clean-swept South Africa by 3-0 and coupled it with defeating Australia in their only warm-up game. The West Indies ended up scoring 257 runs in that game. That’s good protents, right?
Andre Russell was striking at 207.89 in T20s this year. The power-hitter also helped KolKata Knight Riders’ title win last week in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Moreover, Pooran was the second-highest scorer for Lucknow SuperGiants. Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer kept a healthy strike rate of 150+ for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
So, the key-batters are in red-hot forms ahead of the World Cup. In the South Africa series, Gudakesh Motie was the pick of the bowlers while Brandon King scored the most runs in the series.
So, West Indies look all-sorted right before the mega event and ready to reclaim their glory.
Papua New Guinea
PNG, on the other side, will play their second edition of the T20 World Cup, after having played in the 2021 event. The team will look forward to making some positive impressions and upsetting some calculations. One positive side is the 10-members of the current squad also participated in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup – talk about experience. Although PNG is a pace-packed side, having only a one frontliner spinner – Charles Amini, but the side will look to their veteran batters including the likes of Tony Ura, Lega Siaka, Assad Vala, and Sese Bau to turn the tides of their side, and they all are capable to do so – West Indies would agree too.
It will be an enthralling contest as both of the sides contain batters that have ability to change the fortune to their sides in no time. Interestingly, no host side has ever managed to win the T20 World Cup at their backyard, So, West Indies will need to do a gargantuan task to break this trend.
Pitch and Weather Report:
The par score for the T20s at the Providence ground is 168 since the start of the 2022, with the team chasing wins in more contests. Spinners will hold the key at this venue. Rain is expected to ruin the fun for a while but as of now the weather suggests it would be a sunny day regardless.
Head-to-Head:
Both of the sides have never faced eachother in a T20i before.
Predictions:
PNG have won 14 T20i games out of 18 post 2022 T20 World Cup but West Indies will have the upper hand, considering the rich form of their players and of course – the experience. The young PNG sensation, left-arm spinner, John Kariko might trouble the Windies players but WI at their best, have the ability to smash anyone in the world. So, West Indies are strong contenders to win their opening match against PNG.
WI Vs CAN Live Streaming:
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
