Skeptical about how Umar Akmal would be used after his bizarre innings against New Zealand, I transferred him out for Tamim Iqbal going by the India-Bangladesh match pitch report. The deck behaved in exactly the opposite way though, and had Jasprit Bumrah taken that catch, I would already be regretting the move.
If you still have Akmal, stick with him and hope he comes out to bat at No.4 again; he has this habit of coming good against Australia.
Australia vs Pakistan
Transfers made – 1; Transfers left – 14
Virat Kohli out – Shane Watson in
Captain – Shane Watson
The wicket at Mohali is easily the second-best batting surface we have seen this tournament. With Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Amir and Usman Khawaja already in my team, the only other player that interests me for this match is Shane Watson. 4 overs against a weak batting unit, opening the batting on a true deck and lack of better options – what else do you need to get him in and captain him?
I have discussed enough about why I wouldn’t pick Steven Smith and David Warner, and they have done nothing so far to change my point of view. Moving on, I expect Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa to be among the most popular picks here. Maxwell won’t be bowling many overs today considering that Pakistan have only one left-handed batsman and he bats at the top of the order, so that rules him out. Zampa could get a couple of wickets at best, but I don’t think stocking up my team with Aussie players at this point would make any sense.
Sharjeel Khan would be a tempting option for many of you after his Kiwi-blast last match, but he is neither as good as hyped nor dependable. The likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile and Josh Hazlewood, who is likely to come in in place of John Hastings, are too good to be messing around with. And then there is Zampa as well.
South Africa vs West Indies
Transfers made – 5; Transfers left – 9
Rohit Sharma out – Chris Gayle in
Mohammad Amir out – Andre Russell in
Adil Rashid out – Dwayne Bravo in
Shane Watson out – Imran Tahir in
Usman Khawaja out – Sulieman Benn in
Captain – Dwayne Bravo (if Windies bowl first)/ Andre Russell (if Windies bat first)
Nagpur has been a proper dustbowl so far, and there is no reason why it could be different tomorrow. With West Indies playing twice in four matches, I bring all of Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, Andre Russell and Chris Gayle into my team.
Bravo is the team’s go-to bowler, and he can’t ask for a better deck to bowl on; Russell may not be as good with the ball on such decks, but he could get lucky and his big-hitting skills will definitely be needed here.
Normally I wouldn’t take Gayle on such surfaces, but what pushes me into doing it here is South Africa don’t have the type of bowlers who could do well against him on this surface. With JP Duminy ruled out of this fixture, their best bet is Imran Tahir, but he comes in only after the powerplay – that’s enough time for Gayle to do the damage. And even then, there is a good chance that the left-hander could see him out if he senses the threat on offer.
Samuel Badree bowls a lot of his overs up front, and I don't see Faf du Plessis and Co. losing it against him. Sulieman Benn, who has been pretty impressive in this tournament without much luck, is a better option, and he comes in cheaper as well. With the West Indies playing Afghanistan next on the same deck, I see him being amongst the wickets.
Imran Tahir would be the only South African player who will get into my team for this fixture. Quinton de Kock wouldn’t enjoy playing on this deck while AB de Villiers could score 50 at best which I can do without seeing the number of changes I will have to make to get him in for a single low-scoring match.
I already have Andre Fletcher in my team, who if opens is likely to score a good number of runs. Given his style of play, he could be mistaken for a mere slogger, which is as wrong as one can get. The right-handed opener has a tight defence and keeps his shape while going for his big shots even so early on in his career, which shows the kind of promise he has. I see him as a potential match-winner for West Indies.
What I have done here might look like a Caribbean overdose, but I see a role for every single one of them. Also, something different has to be done here to make up ground.
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