The West Indies’ reward for winning all four of their preliminary matches in the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup is a gauntlet of the other three unbeaten teams in the competition. Hosts and holders India, 2025 finalists South Africa, and surprise package Zimbabwe await in the Super 8 phase. Their first test will be going up against Zimbabwe today at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Veteran cricket commentator Joseph Reds Perreira expects head coach Daren Sammy to play his strongest possible XI, including Matthew Forde, who has the best economy rate in the squad at 4.40 runs per over, and omitting former captain Rovman Powell, who has struggled with the bat, contributing just 47 runs in three innings, with a high score of 24. He also anticipates the return of allrounder Romario Shepherd from injury. Shepherd took 5-20 against Scotland.
“Well, my selection, the final 11 will be on form,” stated Perreira. “And on form, I have to include Matthew Forde, who has been very economical, very outstanding in just about every department. I will have to leave out Rovman Powell, simply because he has not had an outstanding World Cup so far. And I believe that with Shepherd expected to come back in, that will be my one change.”
West Indies have met Zimbabwe just four times in T20 Internationals, and the islanders have won three of those meetings. The Men in Maroon also have an advantage in this fixture, in that they have played twice at the venue, whilst the Africans played all their games in Sri Lanka. Perreira says the Super 8 opener will set the tone for the rest of the competition, but cautioned that Shai Hope’s men must take the game seriously.
“The game against Zimbabwe is very important, but at the Super 8 level it goes up more than a couple of notches,” warned Perreira. “Zimbabwe is a team, obviously like the West Indies, who are starting to believe in themselves. Every ball will be important. Every run will be important. Every over will be important. The power play is important, but it doesn’t have to be accomplished in three overs. You can reach your target in six overs with just simple, basic cricket, using all the available real estate around.
“The middle order has got to be extremely selective. In terms of the opening pair, King needs to bat deep with Hope. Hetmyer, who is enjoying, really, a tremendous run, must realise that number three is very responsible, and he cannot go too hard too early. He’s got to bat deep, and with the support of Chase and Rutherford and Holder and Forde, our attack is nicely balanced.Â
“Joseph must look to bowl yorkers, Holder has got to try and get that kind of length where he can move the ball ways. Forde will be, I’m sure, his normal economical self, and adds to the middle order. And I think the two spinners of Motie and Hossein complement themselves.Â
“So, King is due, hopefully, for a big one. And the West Indies must start off by respecting their opponents, by respecting the game, and really produce a very mature performance and not get carried away on the day.”
The match is scheduled to get underway from 9:30 a.m. Eastern Caribbean time.
