Aditya ChaudhuriAnother day of action packed games ahead of us
It’s THE Day, it is time for probably the biggest game in cricket to take place as India will take on Pakistan in New York. Apart from the big ticket India-Pakistan game, we also have a couple of other interesting games lined up with double World Champions West Indies in action and giant-killers Scotland also take the field.
As we gear up for the games, here’s our prediction for the matches.
Match 18: West Indies vs Uganda | 06:00 IST, June 9
The first game of the day will see West Indies take on Uganda in what should be a fairly one-sided contest. Uganda stunned Papua New Guinea to get off the board after receiving a proper beating against Afghanistan in their campaign opener but against much tougher opponents in West Indies, the writing is on the wall.
The two-time World Champions head into the game on a five-match win streak and the streak is all but likely to continue for at least another match.
Fantasy XI: Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Simon Ssesazi, Riazat Ali Shah, Roston Chase, Andre Russell, Alpesh Ramjani, Alzarri Joseph, Frank Nsubuga, Akeal Hossein, Brian Masaba
Venue: Providence, USA
Winner Prediction: West Indies
Match 19: India vs Pakistan | 20:00 IST, June 9
The biggest game of the tournament and we are not even talking about the final, cricket’s iconic rivalry – the India-Pakistan matchup takes place in New York with India holding a big advantage.
India started their campaign against Ireland with a solid win over Ireland, overcoming tough conditions at an unstable New York pitch. Pakistan on the other hand came into the game following a shock defeat to USA. Pakistan leaked runs with the ball, with some sloppy bowling towards the end of that game and against India, they will have their task cut out and if they are sloppy again, they will be punished at the hands of much better opposition.
What works in Pakistan’s favour is that they have a formidable and experienced pace bowling lineup led by Shaheen Shah Afridi and boasts of the likes of Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir and Naseem Shah. On a pitch which has caused trouble for all batters, India will have to be careful against a strong bowling unit.
The inaugural T20 World Cup champions though should have this one in the bag with the Men In Blue being just that much better placed right now against their arch rivals.
Fantasy XI: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Shadab Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shaheeh Afridi, Jasprit Bumrah, Haris Rauf
Venue: New York, USA
Winner Prediction: India
Match 20: Oman vs Scotland | 22:30 IST, June 9
Oman take on Scotland in the final game of the day with Scotland high off the win over Namibia while Oman have suffered two losses from as many games and are yet to get off the mark.
After going down to Namibia in the Super Over, Oman showed heart against the Australians albeit in a losing cause and although they started the match against Scotland as the underdogs, we should see Oman put up a good fight. That would be about it as Scotland are the favourites and even though they had their game against England washed out, the Scottish openers gave the team a brilliant start.
Fantasy XI: Richie Berrington, George Munsey, Michael Jones, Aqib Ilyas, Ayaan Khan, Zeeshan Maqsood, Michael Leask, Brad Wheal, Brad Currie, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan
Venue: North Sound
Winner Prediction: Scotland
