World Cup 2019: Match 42, Afghanistan vs West Indies - Why West Indies will win the match

When the 2019 World Cup began, West Indies were said to be the dark horses of the tournament and the way they performed in their opening match sent a warning to all other teams. However, the Men in Maroon have struggled to repeat their performance of the Pakistan game. As a result, they have been knocked out of the tournament much before playing their final group stage match.

West Indies will now face the team at the bottom, Afghanistan, in a dead rubber at Headingley. Jason Holder's men have a golden opportunity to end their World Cup campaign on a high. The pace attack of Afghanistan is very weak which can allow the likes of Chris Gayle, Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer to play a big innings.

The only thing West Indies should be wary of is the Afghan spin attack. Mohammed Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman can destroy even the best batting order on their day. They have already given a scare to heavyweights India and Pakistan in this tournament but they may find it difficult to trouble West Indies.

The West Indian batsmen should not be afraid of the Afghan spinners and instead attack them just like Eoin Morgan did. Morgan caught the spinners off guard with his clean hitting and West Indies should do the same today. Also, the Caribbean pacers will prove to be dangerous for the Afghan batting line-up which has looked out of sorts in English conditions.

If West Indies bat first, the chances that we will see a 350+ score today are very high and given that this match will be Gayle's final World Cup match, Jason Holder and co. will look to give the legend an emphatic farewell from the tournament. Thus, West Indies seem to the favorites to win today.

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