WI vs ENG

Key Features –

1. Joe Root once again showing his class with the bat by scoring his second century within 4 matches in the World Cup 2019. Also got two wickets with the ball giving him the perfect tag of the Man of The Match Award in this domination by England.

2. Nicholas Pooran was the lone fighter for West Indies and scored a 63(78).

3. Mark Wood and Jofra Archer demolishing the batting order of West Indies picking up 3 wickets each in their spells.

4. Woakes being promoted up the order to show his all round ability which he did prove really well with a bowling spell of 5-2-16-1 and a score of 40(54).

5. Shimron Hetmeyer and Nicholas Pooran put up a partnership of 89 runs for the 4th wicket to stabilize the innings to an extent.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. West Indies becomes the first team in the history of World Cup and maybe even ODI cricket to play with 6 regular seamers who bowl at a speed of 140Kmph+. The whole match saw a total of 11 regular seamers who bowled, probably a new world record in terms of World Cup cricket.

2. Even though the Windies had an amazing seam attack, the English batsmen proved their class and showed as to why are they the favourites in this tournament by chasing down a target of 213 in just 33 overs losing only 2 wickets, even without Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan’s presence.

3. Shai Hope wasn’t able to get the ball to connect to his bat which made it obvious that he wouldn’t be able to score big. Gayle got a quick start but couldn’t capitalize on it. Russell too had the same problem after scoring two sixes of Rashid. Basically, the batting has to be brought back into proper order if West Indies look to go through to the playoffs and want to win their future fixtures.

4. Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan’s injuries might be a concern and if it’s serious then that would be a huge loss to England in their next fixtures. On the other hand, Joe Root is in a dream form and already has two centuries in just 4 matches for him in this World Cup. Jofra Archer on the other hand has already picked up 9 wickets with 3 3-wicket hauls in the 4 matches he’s played in this World Cup.

5. England is now positioned 2nd on the points table and West Indies after an amazing start against Pakistan is still just placed on the 6th position.

6. England take on Afghanistan next. On the other hand, West Indies take on Bangladesh next.

Up Next –

A DOUBLE HEADER!

I. Sri Lanka vs Australia

A no brainer to say that Australia has the upper hand in this battle and will go inside as the favourites, that is IF the match happens since it’s been a rainy season for Sri Lanka as such. Sri Lanka hasn’t played a complete 50 over match even once in this World Cup 2019 and playing against Australia with not a huge morale will be a problem for the Sri Lankan team.

Nuwan Pradeep’s injury is a concern and he isn’t sure of playing tomorrow even though they’ve got a long break. Lasith Malinga had travelled back home for a family reason and his availability is also not a surety. On the other hand, Maxwell’s lack of form is a concern for Australia, but their batting attack with Warner, Finch, Smith, Khawaja, Carey and Marsh is a huge boost for them. Stoinis is supposed to be fit and should be available for the encounter tomorrow unless Australia don’t want to risk his fitness against a weaker team like Sri Lanka, when they already have a strong XI to field anyway.

Probable XIs –

SL – Kusal Perera, Karunaratne, Avishka, Thirimanne, De Silva, Matthews, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis/Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay/Lasith Malinga.

AUS – Warner, Finch, Smith, S Marsh, Khawaja, Maxwell, Carey, Cummins, Richardson, Starc, Coulter-Nile

Possible Replacements –

1. Australia is likely to field the same XI which won against Pakistan.

2. Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Pradeep’s availabilities aren’t confirmed yet and Jeffrey Vandersay might be all set to make a debut in this World Cup, along with one of Milinda Siriwardana or Jeevan Mendis replacing the other.

II. South Africa vs Afghanistan

Both teams who haven’t gotten off to a win as of yet in this World Cup face each other in a must-win game for both teams. Again a no brainer to say that South Africa has the upper hand over Afghanistan and are the favourites for the encounter tomorrow. South Africa is also coming off with 3 losses just like Afghanistan. Though the Proteas had a washed out match against the Windies to fetch a point, Afghanistan are still looking to open their account.

Hashim Amla hasn’t been in a good form since the start and so has Rahmat Shah after that 43 against Australia in the first match. On one hand, we have Rassie Van Der Dussen who has been a difficult batsman to get out. And on the other, we have Najibullah Zadran who also has been a terror for the opposition bowlers.

Mohammad Shahzad being ruled out was a huge shock to him as well as per what he said in an interview, let apart the loss to the team. On the other hand, Dale Steyn being ruled out was a huge loss to the Proteas. Hence, both teams haven’t really had any good thing since the start of this World Cup and will be looking to get onto a winning momentum IF the match is not abandoned.

Probable XIs –

SA – Quinton, Amla, Markram, Faf, Dussen, Miller, Phehlukwayo, Morris, Rabada, Tahir, Hendricks

AFG – Zazai, Noor Ali, Najibullah, Rahmat, Khil, Shahidi, Nabi, Naib, Rashid, Aftab, Hamid

Possible Replacements –

NONE for both teams unless there are any team balance or injury concerns later on.

SL vs AUS is all set to happen with no chances of rain in London. Whereas, SA vs AFG is on the verge of being washed out with high chances of rain in Cardiff!