ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 2: WI vs PAK – Windies Predicted Playing XI

It’s been four decades since the two-time champions, Windies, last got their hands on the World Cup. They were the runners-up in 1983 and the semi-finalists in 1996. In the last two editions of the tournament, they’ve managed to get to the quarterfinals. However, they faltered at crucial stages and the situation stooped so low that they had to play to Qualifier tournament to enter into the tournament.

Yet, they look to be one of the fiercest teams in the tournament with some of the biggest hitters featuring in it. The team also scored 421 runs in the warm-up game against New Zealand. They kick off the tournament with the game against Pakistan first up. Both these teams are quite unpredictable and you never know who will emerge to be the winner.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Windies:

Openers (Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis)

Opening the innings for Windies will be two of the fiercest left-handed batsmen in world cricket at the moment. Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis will take the responsibility of providing their team with a good start. The duo doesn’t need much time to settle in and can be lethal if allowed to spend some time in the middle.

Gayle was in the mood against New Zealand and got off the blocks quickly with a 22-ball 36. However, he couldn’t stay for too long and will be hoping to start the tournament off well. Evin Lewis, on the other hand, scored 50 in that match. He will also want to bat for a longer period of time against Pakistan and thus place his team in a good position.

Middle Order (Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer)

Three centuries in his last seven innings in the Windies colours, two fifty-plus scores and Shai Hope is in the form of his life. No other player in the Windies side has been as consistent as him in recent times. He will surely be critical to his side in this crucial encounter and needs to hold the middle order together. Hope will have two left-handers in the middle order for his company.

The experienced Darren Bravo is likely to bat at number four. He has really struggled in the last few games that he played. In none of the matches that he played this month, Bravo managed to score more than 25 runs. However, he has got enough expertise to know how to get out of situations like these and will be the key to the side going forward. Shimron Hetmyer is expected to score some quick runs coming in at five so that the platform is set for the all-rounders to launch.

All Rounders (Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse)

Andre Russell looked deadly in IPL 2019 and was hitting every ball out of the park. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the 50-over format. In the warm-up match, he scored 54 runs off 25 balls and seemed to continue the T20 mood. Windies wouldn’t mind the approach as long as he continues to score those runs on a consistent basis.

Jason Holder and Ashley Nurse will be the other two all-rounders in this line-up. They are predominantly bowlers but are quite useful with the bat as well. Holder has got the knack of picking up some important wickets in the middle overs and also swings the new ball. Nurse will be the sole spinner in this eleven.

Bowlers (Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel)

Kemar Roach, back in the ODI side, has got a massive role to fulfil in the upcoming tournament. Roach did not have the best of times in the last few games that he played and hasn’t picked many wickets. But he managed to keep bowl tight lines and lengths. Thus, his economy rate has been quite low. Assisting Roach in the bowling line-up will be Sheldon Cottrell and Shannon Gabriel.

Sheldon Cottrell is quite similar to Kemar Roach and bowls quick. He returned with figures of 1/16 against New Zealand and can also bat a bit down the order. Having not bowled much in the last few days, Shannon Gabriel could be slightly rusty. Yet, he remains extremely critical in the bowling line-up as he can pick up wickets at the top as well as at the death.