Georgetown (Guyana): More than eight years after Carlos Brathwaite’s four sixes at Eden Gardens gave them their second T20 world title, a wounded West Indies will look to redeem themselves at home when they begin their campaign in the event’s ninth edition by taking on Papua New Guinea, here Sunday.
Brathwaite had slammed Ben Stokes for four successive sixes in the final over to pull off one of the most astonishing chases that made the West Indies the first team to win the T20 World Cup twice. Their maiden triumph was in 2012.
But what followed was years of agony as the team found itself lost in transition. In 2021, they endured four defeats in five games to make a Super 12 exit.
Worse was in store in the 2022 edition in Australia when they failed to qualify for the main round after shock defeats to minnows Scotland and Ireland.
It’s been 2982 days since the memorable night at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, something they would be desperate to reclaim especially when the tournament is at home.
Their two-time T20 World Cup winning skipper Darren Sammy is back as a coach and the Rovman Powell-led side already made its intention clear with a ruthless win over Australia in a warmup match.
But that Australia was a depleted side as only nine players from their squad were available for the match.
Nicolas Pooran will play a pivotal role in the middle-order, but West Indies boast additional firepower with Powell, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, and Romario Shepherd, making them one of the most formidable batting line-ups in the tournament.
Russell has been in exceptional form, both with bat and ball, after aiding Kolkata Knight Riders in clinching their third IPL title recently.
West Indies will also be looking to become the first team to win a T20 World Cup at home.
They have replaced the experienced but injured Jason Holder with left-arm fast bowler Obed McCoy.
McCoy was the leading wicket-taker during the West Indies A’s recent tour to Nepal, grabbing eight wickets in five matches.
Assadollah Vala-led PNG will make their second appearance after 2021 after sealing their spot via the East Asia-Pacific regional final in July 2023.
Vala is one of 10 players from their 2021 campaign, with that edition’s reserve member Jack Gardner picked in the 15-player group this time. Leg-spinning all-rounder CJ Amini will be his deputy.
The side boasts no fewer than eight recognised all-rounders, with both right and left-arm bowling options.
Left-arm quick Sema Kamea and Kabua Vagi Morea both enjoyed qualifying action, with the latter taking a hat-trick in the game against the Philippines.
Teams (from)
West Indies: Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph (vc), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd.
Papua New Guinea: Assadollah Vala (c), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, CJ Amini, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau and Tony Ura.
Match starts: 8pm IST.
USA favourites vs Canada
A team full of expatriates, tournament co-hosts USA, coached by former Australian batter Stuart Law, will promise some surprises when it kicks off the T20 World Cup taking on qualifiers Canada in a battle of debutants.
The USA have proved that they will be no pushovers, having beaten the full-member side Bangladesh 2-1 in the build up to the tournament.
They will also have the edge having beaten Canada 4-0 recently.
The side will be boosted by former New Zealand player and 2015 World Cup finalist Corey Anderson. The hosts will be led by wicket-keeper batter Monank Patel.
Born in Anand, Monank played for his home state at age-group level before making the US his home in 2016.
He was the top-scorer in the World T20 Americas qualifier 2018 with 208 runs from six innings and made his T20I debut against UAE in 2019.
The team will also feature some familiar names in former Mumbai and Rajasthan Royals left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh and ex-Delhi and Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Milind Kumar.
They also have Saurabh Netravalkar, the most capped USA player, Aaron Jones, and opener Steven Taylor, their highest run-scorer in international cricket.
Tearaway quick Ali Khan is also fit for the tournament, shaking off a hamstring injury which kept him out of the Canada series.
Batting all-rounder Nitish Kumar, who played 18 T20Is for Canada from 2012 to 2019, has now switched sides and will be seen in the USA jersey. He made his T20I debut for the USA against Canada in April this year.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Saad Bin Zafar brings a wealth of experience to the Canada team, with top-order batter Aaron Johnson and left-arm seamer Kaleem Sana also expected to feature heavily in a side with just four players under the age of 30.
Teams (from)
USA: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones (vc), Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor and Shayan Jahangir.
Canada: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Navneet Dhaliwal, Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger, Jeremy Gordon, Nikhil Dutta, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyankhan Pathan, Junaid Siddiqui, Dilpreet Bajwa, Shreyas Movva and Rishiv Joshi.
PTI