Mighty India will face fighter Windies side on Thursday (27th June) during the match 34 of the ongoing 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
India’s present form
As New Zealand suffered a defeat on the previous day (26th June), India is now the only team in this tournament which hasn’t faced a defeat yet. After playing five matches in the ongoing CWC, India has earned nine points with four victories (one had no result). While India has played least matches in this tournament yet, two more wins will secure their place for the semi-finals of this tournament.
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One of the favourite teams of this competition, India has started this tournament with a strong attitude. In this tournament, they comfortably beat South Africa, Australia and Pakistan while their New Zealand match was washed out in the rain. However, in their last game, inexperienced Afghanistan hugely scared India in the tough batting pitch. India somehow managed to earn a close 11-run victory, thanks to the brilliant bowling performances.
Windies’ present form
Meanwhile, all the upcoming matches of this tournament are going to be the ‘do or die’ games for Windies. Windies has earned only three points after playing six games in this tournament. Even winning their all the remaining matches, Windies still have very little chance to qualify for the semi-finals of this tournament as they also have to depend on the other teams’ performances.
Windies strongly started this tournament by thrashing Pakistan. However, they failed to carry this momentum in further matches. After a close 15-run defeat against Australia, their terrific start against South Africa went in vain due to the rain washout. Later, the host England and Bangladesh handed them big defeats.
Also Read : ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 (Match 34): India vs Windies – Stats Preview
While Windies was suffering a similarly humiliating defeat against New Zealand in their last match, Carlos Brathwaite’s firing batting almost snatched a miracle victory for them. Finally, in that game, Windies suffered a five-run defeat which has made their journey harder in this tournament.
Latest news for both teams
While India hasn’t sorted out the no.4 batting position puzzle, opener Shikhar Dhawan‘s injury has put them under more trouble. As the experienced Dhawan has been ruled out from this tournament, it will put Indian batting line-up in a more challenging situation.
Also, Bhuvneshwar Kumar‘s fitness issue is a headache for India, despite they still have a strong pace-bowling line-up.
On the other hand, Andre Russell‘s injury has hurt Windies’ limited sources. As the injured Russell will not play in this tournament anymore, struggling Windies will miss a top in-form all-round service. In recent times, Russell was providing some crucial breakthroughs with the ball in hand. Also, his recent batting showed more aggressiveness which could change a game situation in the quick moment.
Match Prediction
In recent time, India-Windies ODI clashes have produced some mixed results. However, India has still dominated in their recent ODI encounters against Windies.
Though the Indian squad is facing big injury scares like Windies in the present moment, India still has a strong team. So, if India maintains its confident cricket against Windies, they have an excellent chance to earn another victory.