ICC World Cup 2019: Match 2, Windies vs Pakistan Preview – Men in Green in a scavenger hunt to find lost glory

Two of the most unpredictable sides in the current scenario, Windies will be up ahead against the 2017 Champions Trophy winners Pakistan. Whilst Pakistan have struggled a little with the ball ever since they came here, the Caribbean juggernaut has looked very positive in every department and is looking strong enough to make a serious case for a place in the semifinals.

Life won’t get easy in the tournament once it begins and there will be many tough moments for both sides as the schedule goes on. It is imperative for both sides to get started on a positive note and ensure their fans can dream of reliving their past glories. Windies last reached the semifinals in 1996 whilst Pakistan never reached the final since 1999.

Most experts are touting this World Cup to be a contest of outscoring each other and in that regard, Windies may have the upper hand going into this encounter. Yet, there are some fast bowlers with great potential on the other side like Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan, who won’t make run-scoring very easy.

Playing Combinations

Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman did get some runs against England, but as it stands, only Babar Azam seems trustable in their top three. The experience of Mohammad Hafeez and Imad Wasim at number four and five respectively will come in very handy. Shadab Khan bowled well in the first warmup fixture and Wahab Riaz was reversing the ball brilliantly. If Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir and reverse swing king Wahab Riaz can find some rhythm early on, they could restrict the Windies to a moderate total. Late evening on Thursday, Sarfaraz Ahmed declared Mohammad Amir is perfectly fit to play their opener against Windies.

Predicted XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Asif Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz.

Windies

Chris Gayle has been in good touch and that is never a good thing to listen for a bowler. Shai Hope has been scoring tons of runs and he also has the experienced assistance of Darren Bravo in the middle order. Hetmyer and Russell’s heroics will determine how far they’ll go this edition. Nurse will be the only spinner with Holder, Roach, Cottrell and Gabriel forming a fast bowling quartet.

Predicted XI: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, ShimronHetmyer, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel

Focus will be on

Babar Azam (Pakistan)

One of the brightest young talents in the world right now, it is astonishing how Babar Azam has taken up the responsibility on his shoulders as their most important batsman. He has been scoring a lot of runs ever since he landed in England four weeks ago and all that time he spent in the middle could pay splendid dividends in the big tournament.

Shai Hope (Windies)

Another brilliant young talent who has been scoring consistently big in International cricket is Shai Hope, who scored a whopping 470 runs in five innings in the Tri-series in Ireland. He scored another hundred in the warmup game against New Zealand, making him a very scary prospect for the Pakistani bowlers. If he can bat around the other hard-hitters, they could plant a huge total with the bat for fun.

Head to Head

Matches played – 133 | Windies won – 70 | Pakistan won – 60 | Tied – 3

Stat Attack

2 – Andre Russell needs two runs to complete 1,000 runs in ODIs.

288 – Chris Gayle is the second most capped player this World Cup with 288 games to his name. MS Dhoni is the only player with over 300 caps in this edition.

Broadcasting details

TV – Star Sports

Live stream – Hotstar

Match Timings – 3 pm (IST) and 9.30 am (GMT).