Daijiworld Media Network
Colombo, Sep 24: Hello and welcome to the coverage of the second last day of the league phase of this T20 Cup. West Indies take on Ireland and there is a threat of rain and Gayle looming over the game. A victory for either Ireland and West Indies will ensure them a place in the next stage of the tournament. Stay tuned for toss and pitch report.
West Indies have won the toss and elected to field.
Pitch Report: Damien Fleming says 'The pitch is dry and there are some patches of grass. The spinners are going to play a big role on this pitch.'
Teams:
Ireland (Playing XI): William Porterfield(c), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O'Brien(w), Gary Wilson, Kevin O'Brien, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, Max Sorensen, George Dockrell, Nigel Jones
West Indies (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy(c), Denesh Ramdin(w), Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Fidel Edwards
Porterfield: 'We are confident and we have been preparing well. Boyd Rankin misses out and Max Sorensen comes into the team. It is a big moment but we have been in this situation before.'
Sammy: 'We will bowl first. We saw what happened in the last game and we believe that we can restrict them to a low total. Dwayne Bravo has a groin injury and Andre Russell comes in. Dwayne Smith is also out and Darren Bravo comes in so Charles opens the batting.'
Preview by Nikhil Narain
A context to any occasion brings out the best in everyone. West-Indies take on Ireland in a do or die clash at the Premadasa in Colombo. The winner would join Australia as the second team from Group B in the Super Eights, and thus there would be no dearth of motivation for this encounter. Australia have already won both their matches and done the tournament a favour, adding some life to otherwise inconsequential third round dead rubbers in the Group Stage. Ireland have the talent to produce a shock win and prove to the world that they can compete with the best. The so called 'minnows' have not done much to impress so far. West-Indies can be unbeatable on their day but Ireland would know that they can also fall like a pack of cards especially if Chris Gayle does not fire at the top.
Ireland
The top 3 need to fire for Ireland - while Porterfield and Stirling force the impetus, Ed Joyce would look to provide the backbone to the innings. The middle order has the firepower to blow the knockout punch with the O'Brien brothers. The bowling will be lead by Rankin and Johnston and Dockrell would provide the variety with his slow left arm orthodox.
West Indies
Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith are perhaps the most devastating opening pair in the tournament. With Charles and Samuels also in good form, the batting is West-Indies strength. They bat deep and boast of a number of big hitting all-rounders who can change the complexion of the match in a matter of minutes - the likes of Pollard, Sammy and Russell.
The bowling is a cause for worry for the West-Indies. The faster men were whacked around the park by Watson and Hussey. Sunil Narine may prove to be the X-factor with the Irish batsmen not so competent when it comes to playing quality spin bowling. There might be a case to replace Ravi Rampaul ( who proved to be expensive in the match against Australia ) with the explosive all-rounder Andre Russell.
Watch out for
The West-Indies would be fearful of Kevin O'Brien. He is a world class player and has shown his batting prowess on more than one occasion.
Chris Gayle is in tremendous form and if he stays there till the powerplay, he would take the game way from Ireland. Nobody in world cricket strikes it more cleanly than him and he has already given a taste of what lies in store for the opposition bowlers in the match against Australia.
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