World Cup 2019: Players to watch for in Pakistan vs West Indies encounter

LONDON: 1992 World Cup winners Pakistan cricket team are ready to begin their World Cup campaign today with a match against the mighty West Indies – who have won the tournament twice before. 

The match will be played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 10:30 am (local time) and 2:30 pm (PST).

Pakistan and West Indies, have faced one another in 133 One-Day International matches, with West Indies winning the majority.

Following on ten consecutive ODI defeats, Pakistan requires to keep striking on the flow of runs and picking up wickets.

West Indies have already vindicated themselves as one of the strongest participants having eyes on the ICC World Cup 2019 trophy by scoring 421 runs against New Zealand in their last warm-up game.

Overall, both the teams are strongly prepared to display a stunning show today.

Key Players:

1. Babar Azam (Pakistan)

ICC T20I top-ranked batsman, Babar Azam, is one of the most essential assets of the Pakistani cricket team. Azam has a very stunning ODI average of more than 51 and a decent strike rate of 92+. He has scored more than ten centuries and twelve fifties against death bowling line ups.

2. Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan)

The decent Fakhar Zaman has always been in a red-hot form since he got eyes after his heroic maiden ODI hundred against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final, leading Pakistan to a massive victory by 180 runs. He has an impressive average of more than 57 in the last two years. He also scored 138 runs against England in the first ODI match of the 2019 Pak-Eng series.

3. Wahab Riaz (Pakistan)

Wahab Riaz was not part of Pakistan’s World Cup squad initially, but later he was called on for his inclusion in the team after two years. Wahab has taken 102 wickets in 79 ODI matches with an economy of 5.68. His best bowling figures in ODIs are 5-46. His pace is expected to haunt the batting line of the opponents creating troubles with continuous variations in bowling

4. Chris Gayle (West Indies)

The aggressive Vice Captain of West Indies has already played more than 285 ODI matches and is expected to retire after ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Gayle has always been a phenomenal power-hitting opener against any kind of bowler with a decent strike rate of 87.14, averaging 38.16. He has already fetched twenty-five centuries and fifty-one half-centuries which mirrors his elegant class and destructive power show.

5. Shai Hope (West Indies)

The middle-order batsman has already slammed a breath-taking century just before the beginning of the official tournament during a warm-up match against New Zealand. Hope has also scored two blistering centuries earlier this month during the Tri-Nation series, against Ireland and Bangladesh. He is in a super-hot form with an ODI average of 51.06. In his not-so-long career of 54 ODI matches till date, he has already fetched six centuries and 10 super-fifties.

6. Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies)

Taking 3 crucial wickets and putting on 24 runs off 16 balls in the warm-up match against New Zealand confirms that not only taking wickets, but scoring runs is also his part of the game. His recent performances show that this versatile man is ready to perform any role throughout the tournament. 24 fours and 15 sixes for a lower middle-order batsman in 33 matches reflect his diligent hard work.