West Indies had to qualify for the World Cup but have shown some serious form since it began. While they lost to Australia in the unofficial warm-up and were on track to a big loss to South Africa when rain came, since then they have upset New Zealand in a huge way in their official warm-up match and then beat Pakistan by another huge margin. They are on fire. Australia, on the other hand, are also on fire, having won 12 one day internationals in a row, at least if you count the unofficial warm-up against West Indies plus the two warm-up matches against England and Sri Lanka. If you don’t count them, Australia are on a 9 match winning streak. Either way you look at it, these two teams are in some seriously good form.
Five Fearless Predictions:
(1) Steve Smith will fire
David Warner was the star of match number 1, so it’s time for Steve Smith to step up for match number 2. They are both in some great form and keen to impress so it’s time for Smith to get a century, or close to it.
(2) Chris Gayle will put on a show
The guy is in some seriously good form and he knows how to score big. It’s time for him to do something amazing.
(3) It’s Glenn Maxwell time
If we didn’t know any better, we’d think that Maxwell was West Indian with the flair he has for the game. He hits them big, can bowl well sometimes and can just about do everything. Against West Indies is the perfect time for him to do well.
(4) Andre Russell is going to hit some big ones
Another majorly in-form player, Russell missed out with the bat in Game 1, mainly because he didn’t get to bat, but he made up for it with some great bowling. This time around, I’m picking he’ll get a bat and hit some big 6s far into the stands.
(5) Australia will win
While it is far from a guarantee, what with West Indies’ sudden burst of form, 12 wins in a row can’t be ignored. It’ll probably be close but it might not be. It’s a tough one here, but I am going to stick my neck out and pick Australia.
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