West Indies have played some brilliant cricket in the World T20, reaching the semifinals of the competition having defeated teams like Sri Lanka, England and South Africa. West Indies will be eager to win their fourth straight 2016 World T20 match Sunday as they take on Afghanistan at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur.
West Indies might be one of the more entertaining teams in the competition as they go into celebration mode after taking wickets, but they take their cricket very seriously. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels might be their key players, but bowlers such as Sueliman Benn and Samuel Badree have performed, helping West Indies remain undefeated in the World T20.
Though West Indies are highly dependent on Gayle with the willow, other batsmen have delivered when the big left-hander failed with the bat. Such things make West Indies an even more dangerous unit.
West Indies are overall favourites to defeat Afghanistan, but the Asian side cannot be taken lightly as they have given all the other nations a run for their money. They have played good cricket against quality opposition, but they lack victory to show for their effort. So Afghanistan, who have won hearts with their display, are expected to come out all guns blazing and win their first match of the 2016 World T20.
West Indies bowlers have to be careful against Afghanistan, who have some really dangerous batsmen. Opener Mohammad Shahzad is an attacking batsman, and loves playing shots early on, while skipper Asghar Stanikzai is a more accomplished batsman, who plays shots all around the wicket.
If Afghanistan bowlers like Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari and Hamza Hotak perform against the West Indies batsmen, the Asian team have the batting to surprise West Indies in the competition.
Stanikzai is aware of the strong line-up West Indies possess. If Gayle and Co. get off to a flier, it could be a long day for Afghanistan. Stanikzai wants his spinners to deliver in their last World T20 fixture.
"Definitely, their batting is very [strong], but we have a very good spin department," Asghar Stanikzai was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
"So where we can restrict them is, we will try to depend more on spinners, since the boundaries over here are longer and hitting the spinners will not be that easy. They are good strikers of the ball but we play good cricket, and are not just trying to give them a tough time but we are here to go back with at least one win [from the Super 10 stage]."
West Indies can do their confidence a world of good if they defeat Afghanistan and move into the semifinals of the World T20 with four wins under their belt.
Where to watch live
Afghanistan vs West Indies World T20 is set to begin at 3 p.m. IST (9:30 a.m. GMT, 5:30 a.m. ET). Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1and Star Sports HD3 will provide live TV coverage for viewers in India and the rest of South Asia. Viewers can also watch Afghanistan vs West Indies World T20 live streaming on Starsports online andHotstar.
Audience in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa will be able to watch Afghanistan vs West Indies World T20 live on SuperSport 2, with the online live stream optionSuperSport Live Video
Willow TV and Willow TV Online are the places to be to watch the Afghanistan vs West Indies World T20 on TV and online in the US and Canada.
Sky Sports 2will broadcast Afghanistan vs West Indies World T20 live in the UK , while the live stream option is on Watch Sky Sports.
Viewers in New Zealand can watch Afghanistan vs West Indies World T20 live on Sky Sport and Sky Go NZ. Fox Sports will show the World T20 2016 match live in Australia, while the live streaming option is on Foxtel.
