Hosts West Indies will lock horns with Afghanistan in a battle for supremacy in Group C at St Lucia on Tuesday. Both teams have qualified for the Super 8 and may experiment with their playing XI. Afghanistan is at the top of the table with three convincing wins and a high Net Run Rate. They have good momentum having won their last five 5 matches. West Indies have also been in fine form winning their last seven T20I matches.

HEADER: LAST 5 MATCHES

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR WEST INDIES & AFGHANISTAN

West Indies might make a couple of changes to their XI. Shai Hope could replace Johnson Charles at the top of the order while Shimron Hetmyer could come in for Roston Chase. Afghanistan might rope in Nangeyalia Kharote for Karim Janat.

West Indies likely XI

Batters - Brandon King, Shai Hope, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Shimron Hetmyer

All-Rounders - Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd

Wicketkeeper - Nicholas Pooran

Bowlers - Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie

Afghanistan likely XI

Batters - Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Najibulah Zadran

All Rounders - Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote

Wicketkeeper - Rahmanullah Gurbaz,

Bowlers - Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Statistical Performance (West Indies)

1. NICHOLAS POORAN

Nicholas Pooran will be the key man for the West Indies in the middle-order. Pooran was in devastating form in IPL 2024 and has this special ability to clear the ropes - no batter has smashed more sixes in T20 cricket this year than the left-hander!

NICHOLAS POORAN IN T20 WORLD CUPS

2. ANDRE RUSSELL

Andre Russell is amongst the greatest all-rounders in T20 cricket history and will be the X-factor for the West Indies in the lower-order. Russell also has a great propensity to pick wickets and is an under-rated fast bowler.

ANDRE RUSSELL IN T20 WORLD CUPS

Players who can make a Difference (West Indies)

1. ROVMAN POWELL

West Indies skipper, Rovman Powell is a destructive batter in the middle-order capable of winning any match against any opposition single-handedly. Powell has an aggregate of 1351 runs in 64 T20I innings at an average of 25.5 and strike rate of 143 with one hundred and six fifties.

2. ROMARIO SHEPHERD

One of the most promising all-rounders in white-ball cricket, Shepherd has already made a name for himself both in international T20 cricket and in the IPL. He has a strike rate of 147 for the West Indies and has hammered 30 sixes in 23 innings.

Statistical Performance (Afghanistan)

1. RAHMANULLAH GURBAZ

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is a destructive batter at the top of the order for Afghanistan who will take the attack to the West Indies bowlers in the powerplay. Gurbaz has an excellent record in T20 World Cup cricket.

RAHMANULLAH GURBAZ IN T20 WORLD CUPS

2. RASHID KHAN

Rashid Khan is amongst the greatest bowlers in T20I cricket history and has bagged 144 wickets in just 88 matches at an average of 14 and economy of 6. He will be a handful for the West Indies batters in the middle overs. Rashid will be a big threat for the West Indian left-handers.

RASHID KHAN IN T20 WORLD CUPS

Players who can make a Difference (Afghanistan)

1. NOOR AHMAD

Noor Ahmad is a talented Chinaman bowler who has picked 97 wickets in 95 T20s at a strike rate of 21 and economy of 7.3. Although he just bagged 8 wickets in 10 matches in IPL 2024, he impressed with his line and length and control and conceded just 8.32 an over in a high-scoring tournament.

2. NAJIBULLAH ZADRAN

Najibullah is a veteran of 105 matches in which he has scored 1811 runs at an average of 30 and strike rate of 138. He is a clean striker of the ball and has a scoring rate of 199 in the death overs in T20I cricket.

Team Head to Head

Afghanistan have upset West Indies three times in 7 matches in the format. The two teams have met once before in a T20 World Cup encounter - Afghanistan defeated West Indies by six runs in Nagpur in 2016. Afghanistan has won the last two T20Is against the West Indies hosted by Lucknow in 2019.

WEST INDIES v AFGHANISTAN - HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

Player Head to Head

1. RAHMANULLAH GURBAZ vs ANDRE RUSSELL IN T20s

INNINGS - 3

BALLS FACED - 7

RUNS SCORED - 25

WICKETS - 2

Andre Russell has dismissed Gurbaz twice in three innings but also taken a fair beating. This will be a great battle in the powerplay.

2. ANDRE RUSSELL vs RASHID KHAN IN T20s

INNINGS - 13

BALLS FACED - 44

RUNS SCORED - 67

WICKETS - 5

Andre Russell vs Rashid Khan in the middle overs could define the outcome of the match. Rashid has dismissed Russell five ties in 13 innings in T20 cricket.

3. NICHOLAS POORAN vs CHINAMAN IN T20s SINCE 2022

INNINGS - 14

BALLS FACED - 73

RUNS SCORED - 65

WICKETS - 6

Nicholas Pooran has a poor record against left-arm wrist spin (Chinaman) in all T20s since 2022 and it will be interesting to see how he handles Noor Ahmad in the middle overs.

Venue and Pitch

The Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet at St Lucia has hosted 19 T20Is. The captain winning the toss has opted to bat first on 12 occasions. The probability of winning the match after winning the toss is 52.6%. The average score batting first is 161 for 6 while the average score chasing is 153 for 6. Australia chased down Scotland's 180 at St Lucia in a thriller on Sunday. Netherlands clash with Sri Lanka at St Lucia on Monday.

St Lucia is the best batting wicket in the Caribbean amongst all venues hosting the 2024 T20 World Cup. 160 has been crossed here 17 times in 19 matches. The team chasing has a marginal advantage winning 10 of the 19 matches at the venue. The highest score at St Lucia is 199 while the lowest is 105. The average score is 157.

The pitch has true bounce and carry and will help the seamers with the new ball. Pacers have picked 57% of the wickets at an average of 23.9 and economy of 8.1 while the spinners have bagged 43% of the wickets at an average of 30.4 and economy of 7.9. The mean temperature will be around 29 degrees but there is 50% chance of rain on Tuesday.

Match Prediction

West Indies will have the edge as they are the home team and have a better understanding of conditions - but it will not be easy against Afghanistan. If the wicket turns, then it is advantage Afghanistan. Pooran will be key for the West Indies in the middle order while Gurbaz and Rashid Khan will be the trump cards for Afghanistan. Based on the relative strengths of both teams, West Indies start marginal favourites with a 52% chance of victory.

Fantasy XI

And finally, this is our Fantasy XI for the Afghanistan vs West Indies encounter. We have 6 players from West Indies and 5 from Afghanistan. Gurbaz will be the aggressor in the powerplay, Pooran the playmaker in the middle order and Russell and Najibullah the enforcers at the death. Farooqi will lead the bowling attack in the first 6 overs while the spin trio of Rashid, Noor Ahmad and Hosein will control the middle overs. Russell will be best at the death.

Rashid Khan will be a good choice for captain as is a match-winner, both with the bat and the ball. Andre Russell is a fine option for vice-captain.

Our back-up players include Ibrahim Zadran as batter, Alzarri Joseph as bowler and Mohammad Nabi as all-rounder.

Fantasy XI

Wicketkeeper: NICHOLAS POORAN

Batters: ROVMAN POWELL, RAHMANULLAH GURBAZ, NAJIBULLAH ZADRAN, SHERFANE RUTHERFORD

All-rounders: ANDRE RUSSELL (VC), RASHID KHAN (C), ROMARIO SHEPHERD

Bowlers: NOOR AHMAD, FAZALHAQ FAROOQI, AKEAL HOSEIN

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER - IBRAHIM ZADRAN

BOWLER - ALZARRI JOSEPH

ALL-ROUNDER - MOHAMMAD NABI

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