Pakistan and West Indies are ready to clash in their opening match at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2019 in Nottingham on Friday. Both teams will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign to claim their first two points in the competition. In the past five meetings between both teams, it is advantage Pakistan as they have won on four occasions.
Trent Bridge in Nottingham is being used as the venue for the match, which will be hosting its 46th ODI on Friday. Highest team score at the ground in a 50-over contest of 481-6 was registered by England against Australia in 2018, whereas lowest team total of 83 was registered by South Africa in the match against the home side in 2008. Highest individual score of 171 in an ODI was registered by England's Alex Hales in 2016, whereas best bowling figures of 6-25 was registered by India's Kuldeep Yadav. The venue is famous for becoming a batting paradise of late as scores in excess of 400 is pretty common in a 50-over contests there, therefore, nothing different should be expected from the pitch on Friday.
Pakistan will enter the match low on confidence as they are currently on a run of 10-straight defeats in the 50-over format. That's not all, as the team from the subcontinent also suffered a shocking defeat against Afghanistan in the warmup match. Therefore, the Men in Green will be hopeful that new tournament will bring the much needed
Pakistan and West Indies are ready to clash in their opening match at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2019 in Nottingham on Friday. Both teams will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign to claim their first two points in the competition. In the past five meetings between both teams, it is advantage Pakistan as they have won on four occasions.
Trent Bridge in Nottingham is being used as the venue for the match, which will be hosting its 46th ODI on Friday. Highest team score at the ground in a 50-over contest of 481-6 was registered by England against Australia in 2018, whereas lowest team total of 83 was registered by South Africa in the match against the home side in 2008. Highest individual score of 171 in an ODI was registered by England's Alex Hales in 2016, whereas best bowling figures of 6-25 was registered by India's Kuldeep Yadav. The venue is famous for becoming a batting paradise of late as scores in excess of 400 is pretty common in a 50-over contests there, therefore, nothing different should be expected from the pitch on Friday.
Pakistan will enter the match low on confidence as they are currently on a run of 10-straight defeats in the 50-over format. That's not all, as the team from the subcontinent also suffered a shocking defeat against Afghanistan in the warmup match. Therefore, the Men in Green will be hopeful that new tournament will bring the much needed luck they need in order to turn things around. In the batting department, the team will be relying heavily on the top three of Imam Ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan to produce timely breakthroughs.
On the other hand, West Indies will come in the match high on confidence as they are coming on the back of an impressive win against New Zealand in the warm up match, where they scored more than 400 runs while batting first. In the batting department, the Caribbean giants will be depending on the likes of veteran opener Chris Gayle, left-hander Darren Bravo, young Shimron Hetmyer and explosive Andre Russell to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the pace trio of Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas to provide timely breakthroughs.
Player Recommendations:
Batsman: Babar Azam (10 Cr)
Babar Azam is Pakistan's most in-form batsman in the 50-over format. The 24-year-old has represented the Men in Green in 64 ODIs, scoring 2,730 runs at an average of 51.67, which included nine centuries and 12 fifties. In the last three innings in the 50-over format, Azam has registered scored of 115, 80 and 112.
Wicketkeeper: Shai Hope (9.5 Cr)
Shai Hope is becoming an integral part of this West Indies team in white-ball cricket. The 25-year-old has a phenomenal record in ODIs where he has scored 2,247 runs in 54 matches at an outstanding average of 51.06, which included six centuries and 10 fifties.
All-rounder: Andre Russell (9.5 Cr)
Andre Russell is a player with the X-factor in the West Indies lineup. The 31-year-old has been included in the World Cup squad because of his outstanding batting performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he scored the most runs for his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders and also finished the competition as the player with the best strike-rate and the most sixes hit.
Bowler: Shadab Khan (8.5 CR)
Shadab Khan is an important player for Pakistan in white-ball cricket. The right-arm leggie has an impressive record in the 50-over format where he has 47 wickets to his name in 34 matches at a strike-rate of 34.6 and with an economy-rate of just 4.80.
Predicted Playing XI:
Pakistan: Imam Ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain, wicketkeeper), Imad Wasim, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wicketkeeper), Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder (captain), Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas
