West Indies vs Ireland, 2nd T20I Preview- Rejuvinated Irish aim for a rare series win as the defending champions hope for a revival

After pulling off a sensational six-run win against the defending champions at their own turf, the Irish will be looking to script another coup and take an unassailable 0-2 lead in the three-match series when they lock horns with Kieron Pollard’s men at Warner Park in St.Kitts.

West Indies have endured a horror run in T20I cricket- especially at home- in the past year or so. They were comprehensively beaten by England and India last year. In fact, since the start of 2018, the defending world champions have managed just a solitary win in six T20Is at home.

The last T20I once again exposed their inability to put in-roads in the oppositions batting line-up and had it not been for Dwayne Bravo and Hayden Walsh’s efforts at the backend, they would have ended up chasing a total in excess of 230.

Their record at Warner Park isn’t great either. In the past two T20Is played at the venue, the hosts were knocked over for 71 and 45 respectively. Ireland, on the other hand, had a near-perfect game in Grenada. After Paul Stirling and Kevin O’ Brien’s century stand has propelled them to a target in excess of 200, their bowlers- especially Craig Young and Joshua Little- kept their cool at the death to help the Irish deny the hosts the victory.

They, however, would hope that the middle-order backs up the good start provided by their openers, which wasn’t the case in the first game.

Team Combination

West Indies

The only change the West Indies can possibly make is slot Rovman Powell in place of Khary Pierre, who was very expensive in the last game. Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer will be bolstering their top-order. All eyes will be on Dwayne Bravo, who has the potential to turn the tables in his side’s favour by his prolific batting and death-overs bowling. Bravo was the pick of West Indies bowling force in the first T20I as the veteran scalped two wickets in his spell while conceding 28 runs.

Probable XI: Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard (c), Dwayne Bravo, Sherfane Rutherford, Khary Pierre/Rovman Powell, Hayden Walsh, Kesrick Williams, Sheldon Cottrell

Ireland

As for the Irish, why change anything that ain’t broken? They are likely to go with the same squad. Ireland will be banking on Paul Stirling, who is amongst the most experienced players in the Ireland set-up. Stirling grabbed the limelight in the first T20I by smashing 95 runs off just 47 balls. Ireland also have skipper Andrew Balbirnie and Kevin O’Brien in their batting arsenal.

Probable XI: Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Gary Wilson (wk), Simi Singh, Barry McCarthy, George Dockrell, Craig Young, Joshua Little

Focus will be on

Dwayne Bravo [WI]- Bravo made a great to International cricket with a stellar bowling performance. The all-rounder was instrumental in the West Indies restrict the Irish to 208, who at one stage looked well set to score in excess of 230. Can the all-rounder back it up with another good performance?

Paul Stirling [IRE]- Paul Stirling led the way for the Irish for a whirlwind 47-ball 95- an innings which included six fours and eight sixes. Can he do it again in St.Kitts? 

Head to Head

Matches – 5:  West Indies won – 2 | Ireland won – 2 | N/R – 1

Stat Attack

1- matches won by the West Indies out of six T20Is at home since 2018.

2- No of T20Is West Indies have won since the start of 2019.

1-2- West Indies record at the Warner Park in three T20Is.

Broadcast Details

Live Streaming – Fan Code

Match timings – 06:00 PM local time (03:30 AM IST) (10:00 PM GMT)