Aditya ChaudhuriWe have another action-packed day ahead of us at the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with 2009 champions Pakistan getting their campaign underway along with other exciting games lined up as well.
As we gear up for the games, here are the match predictions for the fifth day’s action at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Match 9: Papua New Guinea vs Uganda | 05:00 IST, June 6
The first game of the day sees minnows Papua New Guinea and Uganda take on each other, with both teams looking to secure an important win early on in their respective campaigns.
No one expects either team to cause major upsets, but against each other these teams will look to get important, morale-boosting wins under their belt.
Uganda’s recent opponents include fellow African countries, Kenya and Ghana, against whom they picked up big wins, though they are coming off a massive loss to Afghanistan in the warm-up game, where they were skittled out for 58 while chasing 184.
PNG, meanwhile, have already played one game in the tournament and fought valiantly against the West Indies, pushing the double World Champions to the limit. Sese Bau and Kiplin Doriga impressed with the bat, while Assad Vala had a stunning outing with the ball, Alei Nao and John Kariko also putting up decent figures.
Papua New Guinea are the favourites for this one and should lock in their first win of the tournament against Uganda.
Venue: Providence, Barbados
Winner Prediction: Papua New Guinea
Match 10: Australia vs Oman | 06:00 IST, June 6
One of the tournament favourites, Australia start their campaign at the T20 World Cup against Oman.
Oman are set for their second game of the campaign after going down to Namibia in the Super Over in their opener.
Mitchell Marsh, who starred in Australia’s T20 WC triumph in 2021, will be captaining the squad this time round, and with the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Travis Head coming into the tournament on the back of strong Indian Premier League campaigns, Australia will be high on confidence.
Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell will also play key roles for the Aussies, and at a relatively slow surface, Maxwell with the ball will be crucial, while his batting will have a lot of eyes on it given his poor IPL campaign.
Oman’s batting unit failed against Namibia, with only Zesshan Maqsood and Khalid Kail having a decent outing. Only their bowlers, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, and Aqib Ilyas, bailed them out with the ball. Oman will need their bowlers to step up if they are to put up any kind of fight against the Australians.
Australia, though, are the overwhelming favourites here and should lock in a win to start their World Cup campaign.
Venue: Bridgetown, Barbados
Winner Prediction: Australia
Also read: ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2024 Sponsors
Match 11: USA vs Pakistan | 21:00 IST, June 6
The co-hosts will resume their campaign after their stunning win on the opening day against Canada as they take on Pakistan in the Group A game.
Aaron Jones and Andries Gous got the US across the line against Canada as they chased down 195 with more than two overs to go. However, they wouldn’t be pleased with their performance with the ball; against a bigger opponent, they will have to make sure that they turn up with the ball as well.
Pakistan are coming into the tournament on the back a horror series against England, but with the quality in their camp with the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, and the returning Mohammad Amir, they will hold the edge in what promises to be an exciting game.
Venue: Dallas, USA
Winner Prediction: Pakistan
Match 12: Namibia vs Scotland | 00:30 IST, June 7
The final game of the day sees Namibia and Scotland go up against each other in the Group B matchup, with both teams playing the second game of the tournament.
While Namibia stole away a win against Oman in their opener in the Super Over, Ruben Trumpelmann and David Wiese were the ones who starred with the ball, with Gerhard Erasmus chipping in as well.
Scotland, meanwhile, had their game against England washed out, thought they did see Michael Jones and George Munsey give themselves a 90/0 start in the allotted 10 overs before rain cancelled the game.
Scotland hold the advantage in this game, but it should be a close affair with Namibia looking promising.
Venue: Bridgetown, Barbados
Winner Prediction: Scotland
