West Indies will face Pakistan in the second T20I tonight to make a winning start in the 4-match series. This is the final T20 assignment for West Indies at home.
Match Timings: July 31, 8:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Pakistan and West Indies will meet again in the second T20I of the series. The first game was washed out due to rain. Pakistan showed good bowling skills in Barbados as they restricted West Indies on 82 in a 9-over game. Pakistan had strong chances in the opening game but it didn’t happen. Now, we can see results in this series as three matches are remaining and all will be played in Guyana. Barbados’ surface was questioned by Pollard as well when they lost to Australia in ODIs.
West Indies played two T20I series in their home season so far and got mixed results. They lost to Proteas 3-2 but defeated Aussies 4-1. They won a home series against Sri Lanka four months back. The best thing is, their T20 players are coming together ahead of T20 WC. Lewis and Simmons are two strong options in the opening, followed by Gayle’s experience. They can try Hetmyer and Pooran in middle-order. Pollard and Russell are taking charge in the finishing end. Fabian Allen has the x-factor with his spin and batting. Jason Holder is also an experienced guy. Dwayne Bravo also did a wonderful job. Bowling might be a concern for them as they are not consistent but West Indies have so many bowlers in their squad so they can fix out this.
Meanwhile, Pakistan started things very well and they had good bowling practice in opening game. Babar might be back in the captain’s role after missing out the first game. Pakistan is coming off a series defeat against England. They won just one game out of six in a white-ball tour to the UK. Pakistan would look to solve their middle-order issues as they rely on the batting brilliance of Babar and Rizwan. If they perform, Pakistan survives, and if they don’t. they collapse. Hafeez is also struggling in middle-order. The spin combination is a big concern. Shadab is no more a wicket-taking bowler and Usman Qadir is not effective. Azam Khan has been ruled out of the series due to injury and Sarfaraz might find the name in playing XI. Pakistan will try to fix its issues in West Indies. They are one of the top contenders in T20 WC but with these issues, they might suffer.
Pitch Report
Guyana’s surface is slightly a slower surface but it’s a competitive track for T20 matches. Chasing would be a tricky call and 160 would be a strong total.
Possible XI
West Indies
Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard (C), Dwayne Bravo, Hayden Walsh, Sheldon Cottrell, Obed McCoy
Pakistan
Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Sohaib Maqsood, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Safaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain
Key Players
West Indies
Evin Lewis
Dwayne Bravo
Pakistan
Mohammad Rizwan
Babar Azam
