Windies vs Scotland squad Preview, Prediction Squad, Live Streaming and Key Players analysis: ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018

ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018

Windies vs Scotland, 31st Super-Six Match

Venue: Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare

The Background

As the competition for the two elusive spot for the 2019 World Cup intensifies, March 21, 2018, has another riveting contest in-store for us as the Windies take on Scotland at the Harare Sports Club.

Pitch & Weather Conditions:

While the Pitch at the Old, Hararians has been on the slower side, overcast conditions might just help the fast bowlers early on in the innings.

A complete analysis of teams and key players for Windies vs Scotland:

Windies:

After suffering a minor hiccup in their first Super-Six game against Afghanistan, the Windies came storming back against the hosts Zimbabwe in a bid to keep their hopes alive. After Jason Holder’s inspired spell of 4-35 had restricted Zimbabwe to a manageable 289, the Windies hopes of chasing the target hinged on the opening blitz of Chris Gayle. Gayle fell to the short-pitch stuff from Muzarabani in the sixth over, leaving the team reeling at 1-38. However, the trio of Lewis (64), Hope (76), and Samuels (86) rested the initiative from the Zimbabweans. Late wickets raised few hopes of an improbable Zimbabwean win but all that was squashed by Rovman Powell.

Windies now sit at the top of the table with six cumulative points and their next encounter against Scotland, should they win, will propel them to the top of the table. However, the Windies can still qualify even if they lose, provided Zimbabwe lose to UAE and net run-rate of either of Afghanistan or Ireland remains less than their run-rate, 0.529.

In Hetmyer and Rovman Powell, who became the first West Indian to score an ODI hundred at No.7, Windies has found a savior whenever they’ve found themselves in a hole.

Key Players: 

1. Jason Holder: Whether it is with the bat or ball, skipper Jason Holder has been at the fore for his team throughout the tournament. With 14 wickets in five matches at an impeccable average of 15.93 coupled with 199 runs at 66.33 including two fifties, Holder will once again be a key player for the Windies against Scotland.

2.Shai Hope: One f the most improved cricketers in recent times, Shai Hope has been in pretty good form in the tournament thus far. Wit 210 runs at an average of 52.5 including a match-winning 76 in the previous game, Hope will be one to watch out for in the all-important game against Scotland.

Probable XI

Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Kemar Roach, Ashley Nurse, Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Holder (c), Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Devender Bishoo, Rovman Powell

Scotland:

The defending champions have been in red-hot form thus far in the tournament having stayed unbeaten in the league stage. They overcame UAE by 73 runs in their previous Super-Six game on the back of an amazing hundred by opener Matthew Cross (114).

While the top-order of Scotland has done the majority of the work, with all of them averaging over 30, their lower middle-order is still untested. The fact was testified to the hilt when they were unable to close out a low scoring match against Zimbabwe. Scotland compiled insipid performance in their previous Super-Six encounter against Ireland. While Wheal (3-43) and Sharif (2-52) restricted the Irish to a manageable 9-271 in 50 overs, it was their batting that had a rare off-day.

Apart from skipper Coetzer (61) and Barrington (44) rest of the batting just withered away against an inspired Irish bowling attack. The March 22nd encounter bore great importance for the Scotts, who sit at the third spot in the points with five points. A win against the Windies will all but assure them of a World Cup spot. However, if they go down to the Windies they’ll have to depend on the results of the other teams to ascertain their fate.

Key Players:

Batting: Callum MacLeod

With 267 runs across five matches at an average of 66.75, MacLeod will be a vital cog for the Scotts against the Windies.

Bowling: Safyaan Sharif 

With 12 wickets in five games, including a maiden 5-wicket haul, Sharif will be a key bowler for Scotland.

Where to watch the live telecast of Windies vs Scotland?

The live telecast of  can be viewed at Star Sports Select 2/HD  while it can be streamed online at Hotstar.com