Staff
Aditya ChaudhuriTriple-header ahead of us
With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 having kicked off in full flow, we have the matches coming in thick and thin and we already have a triple header ahead of us on the third day’s action.
We have one of the tournament favourites and former champion in England in action and we also have an emerging powerhouse in Afghanistan kicking off their campaign along with the likes of associate nations such as the Dutch and Nepal in action as well.
Heading into the third day’s action, here’s our match predictions for the games.
Match 5: Afghanistan vs Uganda | 06:00 IST, June 4, 2024
The first game of the day has one of the most promising teams in the scene, Afghanistan take on Uganda. From being another run of the mill associate nation to a a team every nation takes seriously, Afghanistan’s rise in the recent years has been nothing short of spectacular.
With stars like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and more, the team should not be taken lightly at the World Cup. Taking on Afghanistan will be Uganda, in their first-ever T20 World Cup and are far less-experienced than their opponents.
Both the teams boast of a strong spin lineup, which should play a crucial role and Uganda will bank on the likes of Roger Mukasa and Alpesh Ramjani to put up a strong fight against the Afghans. At a slow-ish track, Afghanistan’s trio of Nabi, Rashid and Mujeeb will be licking their lips and we should see Afghanistan start their campaign with a win.
Venue: Providence, USA
Winner Prediction: Afghanistan
Also Read – ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2024 Sponsors
Match 6: England vs Scotland | 20:00 IST, June 4, 2024
Tournament favourites, two-time champions and defending champions England kick off their campaign in Barbados against Scotland. While on paper, it should be an easy win for England, Jos Buttler and co. will be wary of Scotland.
England are bolstered with the recent form of IPL winning Phil Salt, who had an incredible Indian Premier League (IPL) season with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Salt provides Buttler an explosive option up top with Will Jacks’ recent form also doing the youngster no harm. The likes of Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook further strengthen the English batting before their all-rounders and bowling lineup comes into play.
England boast of a well-balanced squad and with Jofra Archer back in the mix, the English bowling lineup will get a much needed boost. The spin twins of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali will play a crucial role for the Brits in slow surfaces.
Going up against them is Scotland, who are more than capable of holding their own against the big boys. George Munsey and captain Richie Berrington will be key for the Scottish batting lineup while they will look to Bradley Currie and Mark Watt with the ball.
England’s recent form though puts them as clear favourites and we should see Jos Buttler and co. start their campaign defence with a win.
Venue: Bridgetown, Barbados
Winner Prediction: England
Match 7: Netherlands vs Nepal | 21:00 IST, June 4, 2024
The final game of the day will see two upcoming nations Nepal and Netherlands take on each other in the Group D game in Dallas.
Both teams were recently in action in a tri-nation tournament that took place in Nepal in March earlier this year. While Netherlands came out on top against Nepal on a couple of occasions, we should be in for a close encounter in Dallas.
The hard-hitting Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd will be key for Netherlands, especially against Nepal’s Dipendra Airee and Kushal Bhurtel. Netherland have the likes of Vivian Kingma and Logan van Beek who will be looking to not let Sundep Jora, Rohit Paudel off the hook early on.
In what should be a very close encounter, Nepal holds the edge over Netherlands in this match-up.
Venue: Dallas. USA
Winner Prediction: Nepal
