Trent Bridge, Nottingham
West Indies
Pakistan
West Indies
Pakistan
?Pakistan has lost the last 10 One Day Internationals and is going through a bad run of form
?Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, and Andre Russell are in great form with the bat for the West Indies
?Sheldon Cottrell and Jason Holder have been doing well with the bowl for the side in recent games
CRICBETTINGBUZZ PREDICTION: West Indies to win this game!
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Pakistan and West Indies will kick-start their World Cup campaign as the two sides meet at Trent Bridge, Nottingham in their first game. West Indies come into this one after winning their last warm-up game against New Zealand in the most triumphing fashion where they posted a score of 421 runs. Pakistan hasn’t been in the best of form and will be looking forward to making a good start to the tournament.
The Pakistanis would go into this game with 10 consecutive losses behind their back and it would be a huge challenge for them to win against the West Indian side which has been doing well with the bat in the recent games. It remains to be seen if the Pakistanis can turn it around in the next game.
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Skipper Jason Holder would be proud of the efforts of his side in the last warm-up game against New Zealand. All their batsmen came to the part toying with the Kiwi attack. The bowlers also did well. But Holder would know that his side has the problem of being inconsistent. With momentum on their side, he would be hoping to start confidently and win this game.
Chris Gayle and his opening partner Evin Lewis look in good form and this will be a threat for the Pakistanis. Shai Hope is in the form of his life and together with Darren Bravo would hold the middle order. With the likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell and Jason Holder in the lower order, the side has great batting firepower and would be looking to unleash that in the first game of the season.
It is the West Indian bowling attack that will need to perform well in the next game. Kemar Roach and Jason Holder will need to start the proceedings well for the side. Sheldon Cottrell has also done well for the side but a lot would depend on how Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen and Andre Russell bowl in the middle overs for the side.
Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach, Darren Bravo, Andre Russell, Jason Holder (c), Evin Lewis, Sheldon Cottrell, Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk)
It isn’t easy to captain a side that has lost 10 consecutive games. The only silver lining for skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed would be the fact that they haven’t played as poorly as the results suggest. It has been their inability to go for the kill that has cost them many games. This is something that Ahmed would like his players to correct as they start their World Cup campaign.
Their openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq would be confident having scored runs in the recent games. Babar Azam has been consistent over the last couple of years. With Asif Ali and Sohaib Malik in the middle order, they have a good batting line-up. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed will need to contribute with the bat as he has been struggling in the last few series.
Pakistan has great talent in its bowling line-up but they haven’t done well in the recent games. Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi will need to provide them with a good start in the game. Hasan Ali their most consistent bowler will need to do well in the middle overs along with Imad Wasim and Sohaib Malik to take on the might West Indian batting line-up.
Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Mohammad Amir, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi
The weather at Nottingham is expected to be cloudy on May 31 with chances of a shower that will make batting difficult on this surface. The pitch has in the recent times played well with the ball coming on to the bat nicely and the team batting first will definitely be eyeing a score in excess of 300.
Venue
Trent Bridge, Nottingham is a good wicket to bowl on in the early overs a rare these days for high scoring English venues. Bowlers have the advantage in the early overs but batsmen who are willing to adjust to the pace and bounce of the surface has also done well at this venue in the last few years.
With predictions for cloudy weather, it would be the easiest surface to bat on in the initial overs of the game where there is juice on the surface. The captain winning the toss would be looking to invite the opponents to bat and pitch early wickets and gain upper hand in the game.
On paper, both the sides are equally matched but Pakistan hasn’t had the best of form in the recent games and comes into this one with 10 consecutive losses behind their back. West Indies would be confident after putting in a 400 plus score in their last warm-up game. They have a hard-hitting batting order and this would make them favorites going into this game.
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