Venue: Headingley, Leeds
Timing: 3 PM IST
The 42nd match of the ICC World Cup 2019 will see West Indies take on Afghanistan at the Headingley ground in Leeds. Both the teams have been eliminated from the race of the knockout stages and for Afghanistan, this is the last chance for them to earn a win in this tournament.
The Afghanistan team has been disappointing, to say the least. They had three very good chances of beating their Asian neighbors as they bowled out Sri Lanka for just 201, needed 16 runs to win off the last over against India and had Pakistan in their grasp until that dreaded Gulbadin Naib over ruined it for them.
This is their last chance to win a game in the tournament and they face an equally disappointed West Indies team. They will want to draw inspiration from their good performances against West Indies in the past. One definite change in their playing XI from last game will be a fast bowler replacing the now retired Hamid Hassan.
The Men in Maroon started off promisingly by demolishing Pakistan by bowling them out for 105 runs and winning by seven wickets. But after that, it was a downhill slide for the Jason Holder led side as inconsistency in batting and non-performance in bowling hampered their progress.
They have won just one game in the 8 games they have played and against Afghanistan, they face a team that has nothing to lose and can’t risk to take them lightly. There are chances of Kemar Roach coming into the team for Shannon Gabriel, but given his fitness, Gabriel might get a chance to redeem himself.
Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI:
Gulbadin Naib(C), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shinwari, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil (WK), Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
West Indies Predicted Playing XI:
Chris Gayle, Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope (WK), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder(C), Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Shannon Gabriel
