New Zealand will play against West Indies in match No. 26 of the T20 World Cup 2024 on Wednesday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad & Tobago.
New Zealand lost their first game of the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan by 84 runs and this is a must-win situation for New Zealand if they happen to lose against West Indies as well, then their qualification chances for the Super 8 are going to be dire.
Kane Williamson’s men had restricted Afghanistan to a score of 159 in 20 overs which the Afghanistan’s bowlers easily defended and New Zealand was brutally defeated in their opening game of the tournament. They currently lie at the bottom of the Group C points table.
The Kiwis now need to win all of their remaining matches with a significant margin to improve their net run rate of -4.200.
Whereas Rovman Powell led West Indies have won both of their outings in the World Cup on their home grounds and sit in second place on the points table.
The Windies started their T20 World Cup campaign with a staggering win over Papua New Guinea (PNG) by five wickets followed by another marvellous win against Uganda by 134 runs.
If West Indies manage to defeat New Zealand then they will qualify easily for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Pitch report:
This will be the first match of this tournament on this stadium. However, the ground has hosted four T20Is where thrice the team batting first has won the game and only once the game has been won by the side batting second.
These pitches are also remarkably known to be neutral as they support the batters and bowlers alike. The average first innings score on this pitch is 145 runs.
Likely lineups:
West Indies: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell (c), Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Prediction:
Despite New Zealand losing their first outing and West Indies winning both of their matches of the T20 World Cup 2024, there is a high chance New Zealand will bounce back and record their first win of the T20 World Cup on Wednesday.
