T20 World Cup | Team Analysis: West Indies vs South Africa

South Africa and West Indies will be looking for their first win in ICC T20 World Cup 2021 when the two teams lock horns in match 18 of the tournament at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both teams tasted defeats in their first fixture on the World Cup.

South Africa lost to Australia by 5 wickets while England defeated West Indies by 6 wickets. A win in this match is crucial for both the teams as the road to the semi-finals would get tougher for the team losing this contest.

South Africa’s strengths:

South African bowlers gave a good account of themselves in the match against Australia. Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj and Tabriz Shamsi were all amongst wickets in that match. Nortje, Maharaj and Shamsi bowled their four overs conceding less than 6 runs in over. South African skipper Temba Bavuma will be banking on his bowlers to deliver the goods.

South Africa’s weaknesses:

Two batters in South Africa’s middle order are woefully out of form. David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen are finding it tough to score runs at the moment. Miller has scored only 231 runs from his last nine T20 innings averaging only 25.66. Klaasen has scored only 40 runs from his previous four T20 innings and is averaging only 10. South Africa need to get at least one of these two batters to be back in form or they will struggle in this match.

West Indies' strengths

Presence of three genuine all-rounders in form of Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard gives a lot of depth in West Indies batting as well as their bowling. The three all-rounders also have vast T20 experience. If two of the three all-rounders have a good day in the office, then West Indies can dominate this match.

West Indies' weaknesses

Nicholas Pooran and Chris Gayle are unable to score runs freely at the moment which is putting pressure on the batters lower down the order. Pooran has huffed and puffed his way to mere 141 runs from his last 10 T20 outings. Gayle has managed only 145 runs from his previous 10 T20 innings. The two batters are expected to score quick runs at the top of the order but that is not happening at the moment.

Head-to-head

Matches played: 15

South Africa wins: 9

West Indies wins: 6

Form Guide:

South Africa: L-W-W-W-W

West Indies: L-L-W-L-W

Pitch and conditions

Two matches have been played at this venue for T20 World Cup 2021 and for the two matches the pitches behaved differently. The match between England and West Indies was a low scoring fixture but the runs flowed easily in the match between India and Pakistan. So, it is difficult to predict how the pitch will behave for this match.

The afternoon is going to be sunny. The temperature is expected around 34°C with a humidity level of around 47%.

Team News

No fitness concerns for the first-choice player of either team.

Deccan Herald’s Dream XI

Quinton de Kock (wk), Lendl Simmons, Aiden Markram, Shimron Hetmyer, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi

Impact player for South Africa

Tabraiz Shamsi: Tabraiz Shamsi is the number 1 ranked bowler in the world in the ICC T20I rankings. Shamsi has picked 29 wickets this year, which is third-most by a bowler in T20Is in a calendar year. West Indies batters had a lot of trouble playing spin against England, if that remains the case, then Shamsi too can create a lot of trouble in the West Indies’ ranks.

Impact player for West Indies

Ewin Lewis: No batter has smashed more sixes in T20Is this year that West Indies opener Ewin Lewis. Lewis has hit 31 maximums in 14 innings. Lewis also played a couple of good knocks in the second half of the IPL 2021. If Lewis gets going then he can set platform nicely for West Indies’ big hitters who bat lower down the order.