West Indies vs South Africa Preview & Prediction | 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup | Group Stage
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England’s victory over USA makes this essentially a knockout fixture between West Indies and South Africa with the loser eliminated from the ICC T20 World Cup and the winner advancing through to the semi-finals.
DATE & TIME: Sunday 23rd June, 2024: USA (WST) – 5:30pm / USA (CST) - 7:30pm / USA (EST) - 8:30pm / Saint Lucia - 8:30pm / Monday 24th June, 2024: UK – 1:30am / India - 6:00am / South Africa – 2:30am / Pakistan – 5:30am / Bangladesh – 5:30am / Australia – 10:30am
VENUE: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, West Indies
WEATHER: Cloudy but dry conditions, with warm temperatures of around 29c.
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: USA – Willow TV / West Indies – ESPN Caribbean / UK – Sky Sports / South Africa – SuperSport / Pakistan – PTV Sports & TEN Sports / India– Star Sports / Bangladesh – Disney Star
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: USA – Willow TV website / West Indies – ESPN Play Caribbean app / UK – Sky Go / South Africa – SuperSport app / Pakistan – Myco & Tamasha / India – Disney+Hotstar / Bangladesh – Disney+Hotstar / Australia – Amazon Prime Video
WEST INDIES FORM: WINDIES IN MUST WIN TERRITORY WITH NET-RUN-RATE IN THEIR FAVOUR
West Indies’ resounding nine-wicket thrashing of USA provided the ideal boost to their net-run-rate, having chased down 129 in just 10.5 overs. This leaves them with a better net-run-rate than South Africa, meaning that victory over the Proteas would see the Windies go through at the expense of their opponents.
LAST FIVE: WLWWW
SOUTH AFRICA FORM: A SEVENTH STRAIGHT WIN REQUIRED FOR PROGRESSION
Although South Africa come into this game on the back of six consecutive victories, all that is irrelevant at this point, as defeat here would eliminate them from contention. They’ll need to replicate the performance shown in their most recent win over England, an extremely impressive showing.
LAST FIVE: WWWWW
WEST INDIES BETTING ANALYSIS
The experience of Andre Russell shone through against USA, the all-rounder taking three wickets with the ball. His variations are subtle, but smart and could lead to him picking up more scalps in this match with South Africa looking to go hard with the bat. Therefore, it would be a smart play backing Russell to accumulate 2+ wickets here.
Shai Hope heads into this game with confidence high following his excellent 82 not out from just 39 balls. Hope was ruthless, crunching eight sixes across his knock and such strength could well come to the fore again this time around. Back Hope not only to accumulate over 21.5 match runs, but also to hit over 0.5 match sixes.
SOUTH AFRICA BETTING ANALYSIS
The difference between South Africa and England was Quinton de Kock, the wicketkeeper scoring 65 opening the batting. De Kock now boasts 139 runs across the ‘Super 8s’ stage when taking into account his 74 against the USA. Such form warrants investment, so back De Kock to rack up another 30+ runs on this occasion, with a stake on him top-scoring for the Proteas also worth considering.
Kagiso Rabada’s right arm pace has also come to the fore, picking up five wickets across South Africa’s last two games. Three of Rabada’s last four appearances has seen him gain over 1.5 match wickets and the same outcome is well worth backing here against the Windies via the ‘Bowler Total Match Wickets’ market.
WEST INDIES VS SOUTH AFRICA EXPERT PREDICTION
The dreams of joint-host-nation West Indies lie on the outcome of this encounter. They face formidable opposition, when you consider just how strong a side South Africa look and have proven to be across the tournament so far. Having said that, one red flag remains regarding this Proteas squad and that’s their ability to get over the line when it comes to knockout cricket.
The ‘chokers’ tag has been consistently attached to South Africa for many years whether it be in the 50-over or 20-over World Cup. So often they have sailed through the early stages of a competition, before failing when it really matters. West Indies meanwhile, have won the ICC T20 World Cup on two occasions and unlike the Proteas, boast a history of stepping up when it counts. With that in mind, backing the Windies to come out on top appears a shrewd move.
WEST INDIES VS SOUTH AFRICA TOP TIP: WEST INDIES TO WIN
