T20 World Cup 2021 – Match No.18 – South Africa vs West Indies – Match Conditions – Playing XI Probables – Fantasy Suggestions – Dream11 Team
Both South Africa and West Indies started the tournament with a loss. They need a win badly to stay alive in the group which is boasting with some tough competition. In their game against England, West Indies wound up for a mere 55 runs, the third-lowest total in T20 World Cup history. However, Kieron Pollard was vocal about their team’s comeback in the post-match presentation.
South Africa, on the other hand, suffered a close loss against Australia. Their bowling looked impressive, which I believe will keep the West Indian batting in check. Let’s move into the other details.
Match Conditions
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Date and time: October 26, 2021 | 3.30 PM IST and 2:00 PM Local Time
Weather: It will be a hot day with no rain expected.
Playing XI Probables
South Africa
One can expect the same playing XI for the African team. Their batting didn’t click together in the first game, but it is too early to change their first XI here.
Probable Playing XI: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
West Indies
Windies, too, are expected to walk in with the same XI. The West Indian all-rounder Roston Chase would be a valuable addition to this line-up, but I doubt they will play him today.
Probable Playing XI: Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard (c), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Akeal Hosein, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul
What can you expect?
The problem with the West Indian unit is that they have more people in their batting order who do the same role for the team. Hetmyer, Lewis, Pooran, and to an extend, Gayle all play aggressive cricket. They lack someone like Hope and Holder in the squad. They should get in Roston Chase to balance the other side, which is just power hitters.
If South African bowlers can keep the WI power hitters in check, which I believe they can, it will be a Proteas game.
Fantasy Suggestions
Once again, a chasers game today. Pick players accordingly. Don’t go deep into the batting unit of the team that bats second. Pick their top order batters.
Keep your bowlers restricted to someone who bowls early in the game. With the pitches easing out in the game’s later stages, it is smart to have bowlers from the first-bowling team.
Read our ten mantras to pick the best fantasy team for an in-depth analysis.
Dream11 Team
Wicket keepers: Quinton de Kock was unlucky in the first game, and I expect him to be at his usual best today. Klaasen and Pooran bat too deep to me.
Batters: Pick batters who are in decent form; I am going with Gayle, Van der Dussen, Simmons and Markram.
All-rounders: Not many all-rounders to choose from. I doubt Pollard and Bravo will have the same influence as they had in their IPL teams.
Bowlers: Picking Rabada and Nortje are no brainers.
Captaincy pick: Going with a bowling captaincy today, considering the pitch’s ability and the batting disorders in the sides. Nortje has been so consistent lately and will be a great captaincy choice considering he will have Rabada bowling from the other end, creating more wicket-taking opportunities for Nortje.
