WI vs AUS

Key features –

1. Steve Smith and Nathan Coulter Nile scored 73(103) and 92(60) respectively to take Australia to a fighting total of 288.

2. The dream powerplay start to West Indies taking Finch, Warner, Khawaja and Maxwell within those first 10 overs. Australia’s powerplay score was 48/4.

3. The day of Wicket Keepers with Pooran scoring 40(36), Alex Carey scoring 45(55) and Shai Hope scoring a slow but a worthy 68(105).

4. Middle order saviors for both teams, whether it was Smith, Stoinis, Carey and Coulter-Nile or Pooran, Hope, Hetmeyer and Holder.

5. Mitchell Starc once again doing wonders with the ball in the opening overs as well as the death overs and ends his spell with figures of 5/46(10).

Post-Match Analysis –

1. West Indies had a great powerplay with the terrifying bowling spell in those 10 overs but still couldn’t restrict them to a lower total and let Smith and Coulter-Nile take the score to a 288, which means Windies need to improve their old ball bowling.

2. If Windies continue such powerplay starts like they did against both Pakistan and Australia taking 3 and 4 wickets respectively in the first 10 overs itself, they might be a terror for all the other 7 teams whom they play later on in this World Cup.

3. Australia showed their strong top order against Afghanistan and their fighting middle order today against the Windies, which shows they are still amazing contenders for the World Cup and will pose a threat to other teams, and will play for their 6th title!

4. Steve Smith and David Warner, both have returned with a bang and have shown all the teams that even though they’re ranked 5th in the ICC ODI Rankings, one shouldn’t count them out so easily and they’re still one of the favourites to qualify for the playoffs.

5. Australia and New Zealand are the only teams having two wins in two matches they’ve played which is a dream start for every team. Hence, they’d be a strong contention to qualify in the Top 4 unless the other teams decide to trouble them in their next 7 matches.

6. Usman Khawaja’s form is a concern with scores of 15(20) against Afghanistan and 13(19) against West Indies. Shaun Marsh is a likely replacement for them in the next match, which is against India.

7. Australia play their next against India who’s also one of the favourites to win the Cup. On the other hand, West Indies play South Africa who haven’t gotten to a winning start even after playing 3 matches, the most by a team in this World Cup as of now.

Up Next tomorrow –

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka.

The two Asian subcontinent teams take on each other tomorrow. Both teams have a win and have a loss in the two matches they’ve played. Pakistan, on one hand is coming off with a victory against the hosts, England. Whereas, Sri Lanka, is coming off with a victory against Afghanistan. Both teams will be looking to continue their winning momentum, but Pakistan look like they’ve the upper hand and seems to be the favorites for tomorrow.

Key battles –

Lakmal, Malinga and Pradeep vs Imam, Fakhar, Babar and Hafeez.

Amir, Wahab and Shadab vs Kusal Perera, Karunaratne, Thirimanne and Matthews.