Whenever you think of England and West Indies’ encounter the mind switches back to the final game played at Eden Gardens in 2016 in which Carlos Brathwaite pulled out the impossible as he struck 3 sixes to Ben Stokes in the final over.
And in this all-important clash of the Super Eight an exciting and thrilling contest awaits. West Indies are in hot form having won all of their games in Group Stage and lately they crushed Afghanistan by 104 runs.
On the other hand, England’s way to super Eight wasn’t easy and short of miracles. Their game against Scotland was washed-out, they lost to Australia, and then in order to boost their net run rate they went all guns blazing against Oman and Namibia.
This all important game will be played on 20th of June at Gros Islet.
Team Overview:
West Indies’ confidence will be skyrocketing as they have been a force to reckon with in this tournament so far. Their batters are in form and the bowling unit has clicked so far. Nicholas Pooran has been on song having scored 164 runs at an average of 41.
The spinner Akeal Hosien has taken 9 wickets at an average of 6.88 in 4 innings so far.
So, West Indies will be hopeful to win the upcoming encounter and keep their winning streak intact.
They will be hoping that the captain Rovman Powell will get the groove back as he is short of runs in this World Cup so far, if he clicks against England it will be healthy for the team combination and confidence.
Moreover, West Indies will be pinning their hopes on Gudakesh Motie’s left-arm offerings. He has taken 7 wickets so far. And at the pitch of ST Lucia, if there is assistance for spinners, Motie is likely to exploit it.
England will be hoping to keep their momentum going as they tonked Oman and Namibia’s bowlers for fun. They scored 122 runs against Namibia in just 10 overs as Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook went berserk. The wicket-keeper-batter Bairstow ended up scoring 31 off 18 whereas Brook scored unbeaten 47 off just 20 deliveries.
Phil Salt will be the key player though in this encounter as his go home or go hard approach has been the reason for his international comeback. Last year in December he hit back-to-back centuries against the West Indies in Grenada and Trinidad. So, Salt will be looking to take on the same opponent but this time in a high-pressure game.
The pace of Reece Topley and Jofra Archer will also come handy to tackle the fire-packed West Indies’ batting lineup.
Pitch and weather report:
A high-scoring match is expected as on the same venue West Indies belted 218 runs against Afghanistan on Monday. Reports suggest 62% humidity and 31% cloudy weather on Thursday!
Prediction:
Although England are the defending champions, they are in great form, but the co-host West Indies have higher chances to win this upcoming game on 20th June!
Head-to-head records:
29 T20i games have been played the said nations and West Indies have stood victorious in 17 games while England have won the 12 encounters.
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
