The last group match of the T20 World Cup takes place on Monday night and it sees the two sides who are going through to the Super Eight stage from Group C meeting in St Lucia when co-hosts West Indies take on Afghanistan.
In essence, this is no more than a dead rubber but it is the chance for both teams to maintain the momentum that they have created and also to put another marker down that they mean business in the important stage of the competition.
West Indies
I think it was fairly obvious given how much extensive preparation had gone into making sure West Indies would peak at this tournament that the twice former champions fancied their chances of winning it. Keeping their huge guns involved was a clear sign of that, as was making sure they had a series on home soil before they started their campaign and so far it has been so good for them with three wins from three matches which has them in decent order for the much bigger games which are to follow.
West Indies still probably needed their first match to find their feet and then absolutely demolished Uganda which was to be expected but what was particularly good for them was the fact that they were tested by New Zealand last time out and they were able to get themselves out of a perilous situation and win quite comfortably in the end. To do that to a full member side will give them a lot of confidence and belief when the going gets tough down the line, should that be the case. It was probably a good reminder to their batters just to focus their minds and not think everything has to go out of the park. The other huge positive for West Indies has been their bowling. It has gone very well so far which certainly bodes well.
Afghanistan
You can’t really say that Afghanistan are the surprise packages of the tournament so far when the USA have also qualified and it would probably be a touch insulting to them anyway given how well they went in the 50 over World Cup. Even so, it has been good to see how this young side have attacked the tournament and entertained and looked one of the best teams in the competition in doing so. You could say that they schedule went well for them with them getting New Zealand when they were at their most rusty but the demolition job that they did on them was so strong that you could suggest that it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
The Afghanistan bowling unit has been a joy to behold so far in this tournament. We all expected their spin contingent to go very well in this competition but they have kept things tight with the new ball and their seamers are taking wickets which is making the game even more manageable for the spinners. If there is a concern it would be that their middle order hasn’t spent more time in the middle but they have a chance to sort that issue how here if they so wish. Afghanistan are in a great position heading into the second stage.
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Team News
It will be interesting to see how West Indies play this one but you would think it would make sense for them to give an outing to Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer and Obed McCoy in case they are needed down the line. Andre Russell could be due a rest.
Afghanistan have the same option open to them in terms of finding a game for those who haven’t had one here yet. They might move their lower order up the batting order to get them some time in the middle.
Betting
We should be in for one of the better matches at the competition so far here. It helps that the pitches in St Lucia have played better than anywhere else but also we have two of the best teams in the competition to date battling it out and with no competitive pressure on either of them there is no reason not to look to entertain. With that in mind, I expect to see sixes here and I’m a little surprised that the line is as low as 13.5 because usually they are inflated whenever West Indies are involved. I do like the over on that line I must say.
I say that because the Netherlands hit six sixes here on Sunday evening and they are anything but a huge hitting team. There were 17 sixes in that match with Sri Lanka, who aren’t huge hitters themselves. The day before, Scotland went into double figures for sixes against Australia so the ball isn’t just coming onto the bat nicely, it is coming off it well too. There is always a wind to ride here which helps six hitting and these two have been hitting plenty of sixes so far by standards in this tournament. With the amount of power hitters on show I can’t ignore the over here.
Tips
Back Over 13.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
