In their second Super 8 match of the 2024 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the United States of America will be going one-on-one against West Indies. The two teams are scheduled to play against each other at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday from 06:00 IST onwards.
It is an important match for both the Super 8 Group 2 teams as they scored a defeat in their respective first games of the ongoing round and another loss can rule them out of the playoff race. Andries Gous has been the standout performer for the United States with the bat, while Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh will be the bowlers to watch out for.
As far as the West Indies cricket team is concerned, they also recorded their first loss in the ongoing tournament in their most recent Super 8 game against England. The Caribbean team has been wonderful with the bat in the tournament with the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell leading from the front.
What has happened so far?
The West Indies cricket team emerged as the top side during the league round of the T20 competition, with four wins from as many games. However, they haven’t been able to replicate the same performance in the Super 8 round. Playing their first match against England, the team scored a defeat by eight wickets.
Both the batters and bowlers failed to put up their best performance during the game. Battin first, West Indies put up a score of 180 runs, with Johnson Charles being the top performer with 38 runs. The bowlers also couldn’t do much as the Englishmen easily chased the total within 17.3 overs.
With no points, West Indies are occupying the last place in the Group 2 points table while the USA is positioned a place above because of a comparatively better net run rate. The United States won two of their four league matches to finish in second place in the Group A points tally.
However, the team started the Super 8 round on the wrong note because of a defeat at the hands of South Africa by 18 runs. The US bowlers failed to put up any challenge as the Proteas ended up with 194 runs in the first innings while the hosts could score only 176 runs in the second innings.
Head to Head Record
The United States of America cricket team is yet to take on West Indies in the shortest format of the game. The sixth match of the Super 8 round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 would be the first time that the two teams will take on each other in the T20 Internationals.
Key Players
Andries Gous (United States of America): Andries Gous has defied all the expectations in the ongoing 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to impress the who’s who of the cricket fraternity. The batter has churned out some exceptional performances to occupy the second place in the run-scoring charts with a whopping 182 runs to his name in four matches at a stunning average of over 60.
Though the US failed to make a mark in their last game against South Africa, Gous was at his best as he hammered unbeaten 80 runs off 47 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter is expected to continue his exemplary performance on Saturday as well to help his team climb up the points table.
Nicholas Pooran is the top run-scorer in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024
Nicholas Pooran (West Indies): The West Indies cricket team has lost only one match in the T20 Championship so far and a lot of credit for the same goes to Nicholas Pooran. The ace middle-order batter is ruling the run-scoring charts with an impressive 200 runs under his belt in just five games at an average of 40.
It was a rare failure for Pooran as he ended up with a knock of 36 runs off 32 balls during West Indies’ last game against England. The wicketkeeper-batter will be eager to get back to his sensational form to help his team score their first victory in the Super 8 round.
Predicted XIs
United States of America: Shayan Jahangir, Steven Taylor, Andries Gous (wk), Aaron Jones ©, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar
West Indies: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase, Rovman Powell ©, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie
Prediction
The odds are in the favor of the West Indies cricket team to score a win and open their account in the Super 8 round. Though both the West Indies and the USA lost their respective last games, the Caribbean side will have an edge considering their massive international experience and the presence of celebrated players in the squad.