Preview: 8th Match: West Indies vs Pakistan: Head to Head, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update, MyTeam11 Fantasy Tips

Date – Wednesday, 26th February 2020
Time – 7 pm (Local Time), 1:30 pm (IST)
Venue – Manuka Oval, Canberra

After a tight game against Thailand, West Indies next face Pakistan in their second match. In their last game against Thailand, their bowlers did a good job of keeping Thailand to 78 in their 20 overs. However, with their score on a precarious 27/3, they had to again depend on their skipper, Stafanie Taylor, as she along with Shemaine Campbelle, guided them home without any further damage. With that victory, they are the group-toppers at the moment.

 

Match 8 - Pakistan vs West Indies in T20 World Cup 2020
Match 8 – Pakistan vs West Indies in T20 World Cup 2020

 

Pakistan hasn’t started their tournament yet. This game against West Indies will be their first game as they wish to improve their record in this tournament where they have not made it to the playoffs in six of their previous attempts. For that to happen, they need to cause an upset by beating West Indies, to begin with.

West Indies Vs Pakistan – Head-to-Head

West Indies have faced Pakistan in 12 T20Is winning 10 of their matches. Pakistan has one only twice against them. In fact, West Indies have won only 7 of their games with Pakistan in regular time, as 3 wins have come in the Super Over. In World T20 tournament, they have faced each other once – during the 2016 edition where West Indies defended a small total of 103, winning the match by just 4 runs. Anisa Mohammed picked up 3 wickets for 25 runs and become the first bowler, male or female, to take 100 wickets in T20Is.

West Indies, on paper, look likely to win the match and improve their chances of progressing to the playoffs. However, these two sides have and a lot of interesting battles lately. On the last occasion that these sides met, in West Indies tour of Pakistan last year, West Indies won the first game of the series quite comprehensively, but Pakistan took the second game to the Super Over and won the third.

While West Indies look a more formidable team from the outset, if there are opportunities that Pakistan grab during the course of the match, they can be in a position to cause an upset like they did last year.

Form Guide

West Indies – WLLLL
Pakistan – LLLWW
(Last 5 completed matches)

West Indies have arrested their losing streak seen in the home series against Australia and India with a win against Thailand in their opening game. They will look forward to winning against Pakistan and build some momentum before they face the tougher teams of the group.
Pakistan have had a mixed result lately winning their home series against Bangladesh 3-0 before losing to England in Malaysia 3-0. It largely boils down to their inconsistency in performance, which can be a factor in such big tournaments.

Teams

West Indies Squad – Stafanie Taylor (captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle (wicket-keeper), Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Lee-Ann Kirby, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Shakera Selman

Also Read:  Team Australia: Strengths and Weaknesses – ICC Women’s World T20 2020

Led from the front by a very able Stafanie Taylor, the West Indian side is packed with match-winners. Stafanie Taylor has been exceptional in this tournament in the past is among the top run-getters and wicket-takers in the history of the tournament. She is supported by Deandra Dottin who also has a good record in this tournament. Her powerful strikes can change the momentum in her side’s favor very quickly. Much depends on these 2 players in building a launchpad of the batting unit. Hayley Matthews has also been a very important member of the side and has made quite a few contributions while batting. The bowling line-up is led by two experienced fast bowlers, Shamilia Connell and Britney Cooper. Anisa Mohammed is their most prolific spinner and is also among the top-wicket taker in the format.

Pakistan Squad – Bismah Maroof (captain), Javeria Khan, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper), Nida Dar, Aimen Anwar, Muneeba Ali, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Anam Amin, Iram Javed, Syeda Aroob Shah

The Pakistan team, under the captaincy of Bismah Maroof, have got some capable and experienced players. Bismah Maroof, herself, is an excellent middle-order batter who can take over the responsibility from the top order. Muneeba Ali, who made her T20I debut against the same opposition in their World T20 game, will look to carry forward her good form in the domestic circuit. Javeria Khan is also a solid player who can look to anchoring the innings. The flamboyance of Nida Dar, Iram Javed and Aliya Riaz will boost the score at the back-end of the innings. Nida Dar will also be expected to lead the bowling along with Aliya Riaz and Diana Baig. Anam Amin will look to roll her arm over and be as successful as that World T20 game in which she took 4 wickets to restrict West Indies to just over 100. There will also be a handful of debutants looking forward to this chance.

Players to Watch out for

Stafanie Taylor (West Indies) –

The West Indian skipper and all-rounder has been very consistent for her country. She is experienced, having played more than 100 T20Is to date and is the second-highest run-scorer and the highest wicket-taker in the World T20. She played a crucial role in bringing the title home in 2016. She had a wonderful game against Thailand where she picked up 3 wickets for just 13 runs and made and important 26 runs during the chase.

Deandra Dottin (West Indies) –

West Indies’ high-flying batter will surely look to dominate the bowlers again as she has done in the past. She is known for brisk starts and can unsettle the bowlers with her powerful strikes. She has scored the fastest century in Women’s T20Is. She is also a handy bowler as she has shown in this tournament with the best figures ever in Women’s T20I – 5 wickets taken for just 5 runs. She failed to make an impact against Thailand, and will look forward to performing well against Pakistan.

Also Read:  Richa Ghosh is grateful and overwhelmed after her selection in the T20 world cup squad for India

Bismah Maroof (Pakistan) –

The Pakistan captain, Bismah Maroof, is very experienced with over 100 matches under her belt. Having scored 2183 runs with 11 half-centuries, she is the most prolific run-scorer for Pakistan. She is also in good form, being the second-highest run-maker in the recently-concluded series against England in Malaysia. Much of the team’s fortunes will depend on her as she looks to anchor the Pakistan innings with the bat and marshalling her teammates on the field.

Nida Dar (Pakistan) –

Nida Dar has a good record in this format as an all-rounder. She has played in 98 matches scoring 1640 runs. She also has 92 wickets to show for her bowling efforts. This makes her a very reliable all-rounder for her side. She also possesses the fire-power to strike the ball cleanly and accelerate the scoring with her cameos, as was evident during the fourth T20I game against South Africa last year, where she struck 75 off just 37 balls. She will be well-versed with Australian conditions, with her experience of playing in the recent Big Bash League.

Anisa Mohammed (West Indies) –

The leader of the West Indian spin attack, Anisa Mohammed is very effective with the ball. She was the reason behind her side’s victory in the only time that they met in this tournament, with her picking up 3 wickets to break the back of Pakistan’s chase. With 119 wickets, she is the highest wicket-taker in this format with an average of just under 18 and the best bowling figures of 5 wickets for just 10 runs.

Pitch & Conditions

The match is being played at Manuka Oval in Canberra, which is known for high scores. Unlike other grounds used in the tournament, this ground is not new to Women’s T20Is. Some of the matches of the recently-concluded tri-series was played on this ground. There has been 9 Women’s T20I matches played at this venue till date. With England featuring in 7 of those games, they would know the conditions well. The average score batting first is 143 and teams batting first have won 4 matches while teams batting second has won on 5 occasions.
The temperature will be expected to remain between 13 and 27 degrees Celsius and will remain pleasant and sunny with some breeze throughout the day. These conditions will aid swing bowling. Toss may not be a deciding factor in the game.

We are expecting a cracker of a match. Follow us on Twitter for all the updates.

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