West Indies vs Australia 1st T20I Prediction: Who will win today's match?

West Indies will host Australia in the first of the five T20Is at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia on Friday. The match will begin at 7:30 PM (local time) and 5:00 AM IST (July 10).

The series will be significant for both sides ahead of the T20 World Cup, which has been confirmed for the UAE and Oman later in the year. While the West Indies are the defending champions in the event and are the only side to have won the crown more than once, the 20-over World Cup is one trophy that Australia haven’t manage to capture yet.

The Aussies faced a setback ahead of the tour when seven of their key players - Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Jhye Richardson and Kane Richardson - pulled out of the twin tours of West Indies and Bangladesh.

Speaking ahead of the series though, Australia's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch backed the players chosen to do the job. According to Finch, this is a great opportunity for cricketers to put their names in contention for the T20 World Cup. He had said:

"It'll give the guys on this tour an opportunity to almost take their [World Cup] spots, I guess. I think the great thing about Australian cricket at the moment is that the guys that are performing really well in BBL and domestic cricket, are the ones that are getting the opportunities. You have to go on current form. These conditions will be very similar to what we face in the T20 World Cup I imagine - especially St Lucia being used quite a lot and then Bangladesh being quite similar to India or UAE, wherever that lands."

West Indies remain as unpredictable as ever. They were considered favorites against South Africa, who did not come to the Caribbean with a lot of confidence, but ended up claiming the five-match T20I series 3-2. There is no reason for the Aussies to take the Windies lightly though.

The captains face-off in St. Lucia ahead of the start of the CG Insurance T20I Series against Australia! What is your prediction for this 5-match series? #MissionMaroon #WIvAUS 🏏🌴 pic.twitter.com/MqKRzTmiEO

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 8, 2021

West Indies vs Australia 1st T20I Match Prediction: Who will come out on top in St Lucia?

West Indies began the series against South Africa on an impressive note, winning the first T20I by a handsome margin of eight wickets. However, they conceded the final match by 25 runs, failing to chase down 169.

West Indies’ inconsistency came to the fore again in the series against the Proteas. Evin Lewis was the leading run-scorer for the hosts against South Africa with 178 runs in five matches at a strike rate of over 160. However, there was not much to offer from the rest.

Nicholas Pooran is still trying to rediscover his form. He managed only managed only 72 runs in the series at a strike rate of under 106. Lendl Simmons scored 72 runs in three games while Chris Gayle was a massive disappointment, with just 56 runs from four games.

Big-hitters like Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell also lacked the desired consistency, although they did show glimpses of brilliance. On the bowling front, Dwayne Bravo was the leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets while Obed McCoy claimed nine scalps. West Indies should be reasonably pleased with their bowling.

Despite the absence of some big names, Australia will be quietly confident of performing well. Their batsmen were impressive in the intra squad matches. Josh Phillippe, Mathew Wade and Moises Henriques were among those who utilized their chances well.

Josh Philippe explains the theory behind his very inventive 'switch pull'! pic.twitter.com/Q9ePOVu5Um

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 8, 2021

Slow bowlers like Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar could be key to Australia’s chances on the slow pitches and also looking at the way West Indies struggled against South Africa’s spinners.

Prediction: Australia will win the first T20I against West Indies.