Pakistan and West Indies, the two most unpredictable sides in world cricket, will take on each other in the second match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
No matter how unpredictable these two sides can be, on their day, they can beat any top side in the world. Both the sides the pedigree, and are former champions.
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Pakistan, who have lost their last 10 ODIs, didn't have the most ideal preparation for the showpiece event. They lost to Afghanistan in their first warm-up game and their second, against Bangladesh, was washed out without a ball bowled.
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Date: May 31 (Friday)
Time: 15:00 IST, 10:30 Local Time
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
But at ICC tournaments, they 1992 champions have traditionally been a notch above what they are at other times and this is what Sarfaraz Ahmad, the Pakistan skipper and the cricket fans would be hoping for.
World Cup head-to-head: In ten meetings, West Indies have won seven, to Pakistan's three.
Prediction: West Indies to win, on current form
They have the likes of Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman who are in great form. And in their bowling department, they have the likes of Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali – who can wreak havoc on any batting line-up in the world.
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Live Telecast: Star Sports Network in India, Ten Sports Pakistan and PTV Sports in Pakistan; ESPN in Central America and Caribbean islands
Live Streaming: Hotstar in India, Sonyliv.com and Tensports.com.pk in Pakistan, espn.co.uk/ Caribbean in Caribbean islands
The only thing that they need to be wary off is their fielding which has let them down in the past and can prove costly in this tournament, too.
West Indies, on the other hand, have been in good form in recent times. They held tournament favourites England to a stalemate at home earlier this year. Then, humbled New Zealand in their final warm-up match.
They boast of having the big power hitters like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Shai Hope in their batting line-up which can explode against any opposition and make a mockery of their bowling attack.
After having their first warm-up game against South Africa washed out, Windies showed glimpses of their power hitting by scoring 421 runs in their last warm-up game against New Zealand.
Their bowling is slightly on the weaker side, but with a solid pool of all-rounders, they have several options. And if the batsmen show up in the mood that they did against the Black Caps, they're going to have plenty to play with.
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Likely Playing XIs
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Imad Wasim, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder (c), Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas
Squads
West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope, Shannon Gabriel, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer.
Coach: Floyd Reifer (WI/BAR)
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hasnain
