With India one win away from a place in the semi-finals and West Indies having no realistic chance of qualifying, Thursday’s match between the two teams might have no bearings on the fate of the tournament. But one can’t yet rule out the possibility of an exciting contest.
India did survive a scare against Afghanistan and would look to return to normalcy as the competition heads towards the business end. But heading into the match at Old Trafford, they have to be cautious of the Windies team and its army of matchwinners who can single-handedly win a match for their side on a given day.
Here’s a look at the five West Indies cricketers who might pose some serious trouble for team India on Thursday:
Chris Gayle
A 39-year-old Christopher Henry Gayle still continues to possess the ability to change a game in matter of few overs. After missing his mark in the first five matches in the competition, Gayle finally found form against New Zealand.
En route to his 84-ball 87, Gayle smashed 6 sixes and 8 fours. Before the Carlos Braithwaite show, it was all Chris Gayle as the West Indian opener took the game away from New Zealand despite losing two early wickets.
After the knock against New Zealand, Gayle will be high on confidence and that won’t be good news for India. Ideally, India should get rid of him as soon as possible because a well-set Gayle can be ominous for India despite the illustrious bowling line-up of India.
Gayle is leading the run charts among the West Indies cricketers with 194 runs in 5 innings, which include two fifties.
Shai Hope
The wicket-keeper batsman is second on the run chart among the Windies batsman.
Batting at number three, the slow but steady Hope has done well for his side till now in the competition. Apart from a 96 against Bangladesh, Hope has also scored a useful 68 against table-toppers Australia.
It would be interesting to see whether Hope opens the batting against India, like in the previous match, or returns to his number three spot. Against New Zealand, Hope had replaced struggling Evin Lewis at the top.
Among the hard-hitting Windies batsman, Hope has a completely different style of play. With a strike rate of 67.75 after five innings, the Barbados cricketer plays the waiting game and seems to be in no hurry, unlike his teammates.
So, India should be mindful of him and not let him settle down. If allowed to spend time in the middle, Hope will make sure that he makes India pay.
Shimron Hetmyer
With back-to-back fifties, in-form Hetmyer would be looking to score his maiden World Cup hundred against India at Old Trafford.
He has already notched up 171 runs in five innings in the World Cup with successive scores of 50 and 54 against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.
In his short career of 31 ODIs, Hetmyer has already developed a liking towards India. He scored a century against India last year in Guwahati in the 1st ODI of a five-match series. He followed it up with a 94 in Visakhapatnam.
Coming in it at number four, India should be wary of Hetmyer not only because of his past record but also because he is the only West Indian batsman who can pace his innings at will.
He can consolidate the innings in the middle over and hit all round the park if needed. Virat Kohli will also be very well aware about the hitting ability of his Bangalore teammate and would like to see his back as soon as possible.
Carlos Brathwaite
The West Indian all-rounder will still be recuperating from the 5-run loss against New Zealand but that is what makes him more dangerous.
With his 82-ball 101, Brathwaite almost breached the target set by New Zealand. It was Brathwaite’s late surge with the bat that took his side so close to victory.
Coming in at number six, Brathwaite single-handedly took his side home despite him losing batting partners at regular interval. He ended hitting 5 sixes and 9 fours.
So, even if India manage to clean Windies top order on Thursday, they shouldn’t relax as another Brathwaite whirlwind knock might just be around.
Sheldon Cottrell
India would like to see less of Sheldon Cottrell’s ‘Army Celebration’, which already has attained cult status in this World Cup.
In that case, the Indian batsmen, especially the opening pair, have to be super careful against the former Cottrell, who has been giving his side regular breakthroughs at the top of the innings.
Out of the nine wickets he has accounted for five of them are of openings batsmen and two of number three batsman. He is also the highest wicket taker among the Windies bowlers, bowling at an economy of 5.75.
In their previous match, the left-arm pacer had an excellent first spell where he got rid of the New Zealand’s top three to finish with 4 for 56.
So, India need to deal cautiously with Cottrell’s first spell to make sure their perfect run in the World Cup doesn’t come to an end.
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