West Indies and Netherlands in action on Friday: 2023 CWC Qualifier Day 5 Preview and Prediction
The all-important Cricket World Cup Qualifiers have already started in Zimbabwe with several teams fighting for the two spots for the much-awaited Cricket World Cup in India.
West Indies, who have won the World Cup twice in the past, did not qualify directly for the World Cup because of the major drop in their ranking. Similarly with Sri Lanka, who were the champions in the year 1996, are currently playing the World Cup Qualifiers to get the spot in the World Cup.
There are teams like Ireland, Netherlands, UAE, who have shown some great performances in the past and are capable of qualifying for the major event. Zimbabwe, being a host this time, has a better chance of giving their best in each match. Overall, the teams are quite competitive and it is surely going to be a treat for the cricket fans.
Day 5 of the CWC Qualifier will witness two games including West Indies vs Nepal. The other match will be between the Netherlands and the United States of America. The Caribbean side started on a terrific note as they won their first battle against the USA by 39 runs whereas Nepal lost to Zimbabwe in their opening encounter.
United States, who will face Netherlands, lost two in two so far but showed promise whereas Netherlands had tough luck in their opening battle even after an exceptional show against Zimbabwe with the bat.
Let us take a look at the preview and prediction of the Day 5 matches:
Match 9: West Indies vs Nepal
West Indies might look stronger between the two but Nepal has produced a stunning batting performance against Zimbabwe in their opening match. They scored 290 runs but eventually lost the game due to their poor bowling. The Asian side, however, made a terrific comeback against the USA on Tuesday after beating them by 6 wickets. With this victory, they have opened their account and are all set to upset West Indies.
On the other hand, West Indies had a good start to the tournament as they defeated Unites States by 39 runs. They batted well to put on 297 runs on board but leaked a lot of runs while bowling as the USA players went on to score 258 runs.
The Carribean side is quite strong on paper including some prominent names like Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran, Brandon King, and Shai Hope. They would definitely add advantage to the team and are favorites to lift this title.
On the other hand, Nepal is an underdog in the tournament but can make things difficult for the popular teams. With their good batting performance against Zimbabwe and USA, they can recreate that performance against West Indies and turn the table in their favour. Players like Bhim Sharki and Karan KC can be handy for their side in the match against Windies.
The match will take place at the Harare Sports Club which is the flat batting track. Nepal played their first match at the same venue and would be having an idea of the pitch. On the flip side, Shai Hope & Co. will play their first game at this ground in this tournament.
West Indies Predicted XI: Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope ©, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph
Nepal Predicted XI: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Rohit Paudel ©, Kushal Malla, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh, Gulsan Jha, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sandeep Lamichhane
Both West Indies and Nepal have’t faced off each other in the ODIs and this will be their first-ever meeting. Nepal can be a team who can stun West Indies but looking at the current situation, the island nation is the clear favorites to win the game.
Match 10: Netherlands vs United States of America
United States might have lost their first match against the West Indies but they must be happy with their performance. The team was exceptional with the bat but now need to work on their bowling. Even in the second game, they were below average with the ball but a couple of players showed promise with the willow.
Netherlands will be favorites to win their match against USA on June 22
On the other hand, Netherlands has the better experience of world cricket and has stunned big teams on quite a few occasions. The team in Orange, captained by Scott Edwards in the tournament, would look for a spot this time in the World Cup, however, they are in a tough group including West Indies and Zimbabwe.
In their first match against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, Edwards & Co. scored 315 with the bat but went on to lose the battle against the hosts. Now, With USA also playing good cricket, things might be tough for the Netherlands this time.
Talking about the squads, USA is having a remarkable middle-order player in the form of Gajanand Singh who scored his maiden century against West Indies in their opening match whereas Netherlands have some top quality batters in their line-up including Vikramjit Singh and Max ODowd. Both the openers scored a phenomenal 88 and 59 respectively against Zimbabwe.
The match will take place at Takashings Sports Club, Harare and United States played their first match here which can be proved as an added advantage for them. Netherlands, on the other hand, would look to dismantle the American side with their bowling lineup.
Netherlands Predicted XI: Scott Edwards ©, Max ODowd, Vikramjit Singh, Bas de Leede, Wesley Barresi, Teja Nidamanuru, Shariz Ahmad, Aryan Dutt, Logan van Beek, Saqib Zulfiqar, Clayton Floyd
United States Predicted XI: Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Aaron Jones ©, Gajanand Singh, Shayan Jahangir, Nisarg Patel, Jasdeep Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Kyle Phillip
When it comes to ODIs, both teams are yet to face each other, however, they have met in T20Is once where Netherlands won the game. Even in this game, Netherlands would be favorites but one cannot ignore USA as they played well against a top-class team recently.