T20 World Cup, England vs WI: Preview, stats, and more
England will take on defending champions West Indies in the second Super 12 match of the 2021 T20 World Cup. The Dubai International Cricket Stadium will host the high-octane encounter. Notably, the two sides played the final of the 2016 edition. England beat New Zealand in their last warm-up fixture, while WI lost on both occasions. Here is the match preview.
Here is the head-to-head record
The two sides have met 18 times in T20I cricket, with WI leading the head-to-head series 11-7. Notably, England are unbeaten against WI in the last three matches. They routed the Caribbeans 3-0 in the three-match series in 2019. Interestingly, WI haven't ever lost to England at the T20 World Cup. They have won all five games, including the final of 2016 edition.
Key details about the match
The match will be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It will begin at 7:30 PM IST. The wicket here turned out to be lucrative for the batters. In the IPL final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, the match aggregate was 357. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on Disney+ Hotstar.
England have a star-studded line-up
England's top showed form in the recent warm-up fixtures despite a loss to India. Jonny Bairstow played in the middle order against both India and New Zealand, with Jason Roy and Jos Buttler opening the innings. Probable XI: Roy, Buttler (wicket-keeper), Dawid Malan, Bairstow, Eoin Morgan (captain), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
The defending champions will have to perform as a unit
WI lost both their warm-up fixtures, against Pakistan and Afghanistan respectively. They have a power-packed batting line-up but their bowling lacks the required firepower. Even their batters couldn't maintain a healthy strike rate in the practice games. Probable XI: Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wicket-keeper), Kieron Pollard (captain), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Hayden Walsh, Oshane Thomas
A look at the top performers
Chris Gayle is West Indies' leading run-scorer in T20Is against England. He has smashed 409 runs from 13 games at a strike rate of 157.30 against them. In the bowling segment, Dwayne Bravo has taken 12 wickets with the best bowling performance of 3/37. Meanwhile, Adil Rashid has picked up 11 wickets at an average of 11.27 against West Indies.
