Deadline: June 6, 2019 at 3 PM IST
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Pitch and conditions
The first match at Nottingham saw West Indies pacers bounce out Pakistan for 105 all out. The second match, however, produced a contrasting result. Pakistan hammered 348 for 8 and then restricted England to 334 for 9. If anything, it was a feathered for batsmen.
Probable XI for Australia: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Probable XI for West Indies: Chris Gayle, Shai Hope (wk), Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Jason Holder (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas
Head-to-head World Cup
Australia (4) – West Indies (5)
The last time West Indies triumphed over Australia was in the 1996 edition. Since then, Australia have not let them off the hook. So make sure to get the best for your fantasy cricket team.
Will West Indies continue with chin music?
If any team who is accustomed to short-ball tactics, then it is Australia. They grow up playing on tracks that make them dance to chin music. If West Indies plan to bounce them out, it will be counterproductive – unless they bowl outrageously fast, but in the process of doing so, they will end up losing their line.
Instead, West Indies can invite them to drive and bowl an odd bouncer to catch them in the crease. And that’s been the beauty of this World Cup. If one game is a high-scoring thriller, the other game witnesses bowlers rattling batsmen with swing – much like how see in Test cricket, that the slip cordon often stays busy. That being said, Australia too will be itching to play on this wicket, for it is tailor made for the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Coulter-Nile. For the obvious reasons, both teams will look to bowl first.
Form guide
David Warner continued his form from the IPL. He scored a resolute 89* against Afghanistan, helping Australia chase down 208 in 38.2 overs. More importantly, not once did he take risk, making sure he plays proper shot and bats through.
Aaron Finch, on the other hand, was the aggressor. He blasted 66 runs off a mere 49 balls, including 6 fours and 4 sixes.
Before the Australian openers took centre stage, Cummins and Zampa had laid the foundation for victory with their three-wicket hauls.
Chris Gayle too continued what he was doing in the IPL and against England at home before that. To ensure West Indies bag a superior net run rate, he went all guns blazing and scored 50 off 34. Pooran then added fuel to the fire and smacked 34 off 19.
However, just like it was the case with Australia, West Indies’ bowlers too set the platform. Oshane Thomas was the pick of the bowlers, having sniped up 4 for 27 in 5.4 overs. Meanwhile, Holder and Russell took 5 wickets between them.
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