South Africa vs West Indies World Cup Match 18 Predictions, Odds, Picks

• Both South Africa and West Indies are coming into this match on the back of defeats.
• Including the two warm-up fixtures, West Indies have failed to cross the 135-run mark in all of their last three matches, despite boasting of an incredibly strong batting line-up.
• Quinton de Kock’s form is a major concern for South Africa. He has been dismissed for single-digit scores in his last three matches, which includes two warm-up games.

South Africa vs West Indies Odds

Odds for this South Africa vs West Indies match taken from BetMGM

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In terms of the head-to-head records between these two teams, South Africa holds an upper hand. The Proteas have won nineT20I matches against West Indies, while the men from the Caribbean have got the better of South Africa on six occasions. South Africa is ahead on recent results as well, since they have won three of their last four matches against West Indies. These statistics, coupled with West Indies’ horrendous form in the United Arab Emirates, make South Africa the favorites for this clash.

Pick:

South Africa to Win (-111)

Predicted XI

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius/Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi

West Indies: Lendl Simmons/Roston Chase, Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard (c), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Akeal Hosein, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul

Two Derailed Teams Are Looking To Get Back On Track

With games coming thick and fast, getting off to a winning start is the best-case scenario for any team participating in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Now that South Africa and West Indies have failed to do so, the second-best thing would be to get their campaign on the right track with a win in their second match.

South Africa’s first match was against Australia. Batting first, the Proteas could only muster 118 runs, as Aiden Markram was the only batter from the rainbow nation to score more than 20 runs. Their bowlers did a good job to take the game till the last over, but Australia eventually got over the line. West Indies’ start was disastrous, as they were bowled out for 55 against England, who then chased the target inside 9 overs.

Team News

It will be interesting to see what the South African management will do, in terms of their team selection. Quinton de Kock has not been in the best of forms, and while the Proteas have a potent batter in Reeza Hendricks, it will be too big of a risk to bench their former captain. Dwaine Pretorius scored only a solitary run in the last match, and he happened to be the only South African bowler who did not get a wicket in that match against Australia. Besides that, he also was the most expensive bowler from his team. Having failed to do justice to his selection, Pretorius could find his place being snatched away by Wiaan Mulder, who is a talented bowling all-rounder.

West Indies’ case is a strange one, as on paper, they are one of the stronger teams in this competition, if not the strongest. They could back their players and go with the same line-up, but if they want to make a change, Roston Chase could be included in the team. If West Indies do include Chase in the playing XI, Lendl Simmons could be benched, while Chris Gayle will then have to open the innings alongside Evin Lewis.

Key Players

Anrich Nortje: After a sensational Indian Premier League campaign, where he picked up 12 wickets and conceded only 6.16 runs per over, Anrich Nortje has managed to carry his good run of form into this competition as well. In the match against Australia, the speedster picked up the crucial wickets of Aaron Finch and Steve Smith. He also was South Africa’s most economical bowler in that match, conceding only 21 runs in his four overs.

Evin Lewis: Like Nortje, West Indies opener Evin Lewis also did well in the recently-concluded IPL 2021. In the five matches he played for Rajasthan Royals, he scored 151 runs. He was dismissed for only 6 runs in his last match, but having a T20I average of 30.79 and a strike rate of 157.81, the 29-year-old is expected to bounce back in this match.

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