West Indies vs Ireland, 2020: 2nd ODI, Preview – Kieron Pollard and Co look to improve on a few aspects with an eye on another win

On a wonderful batting surface, Ireland started well in the first ODI against West Indies by winning the toss. They chose to bat first and it was a great opportunity for them to put the opposition under pressure. However, too much defensive approach from their batsmen built a lot of pressure and they kept losing wickets one after the other. Now, as they gear up for the second game, there isn’t much turnaround time.

They will need to address the problems quickly and the batsmen should look to take more responsibility. West Indies, on the other hand, will look to clinch the series. With a full-strength squad, they seem too good for the opposition and absolutely decimated them in the opener. Their batsmen, however, will want to improve upon their shot selection.

Team Combinations

West Indies

Most of the West Indies batsmen got out after getting starts in the last game and they got out in sheepish ways. That is one concern they’d look to address as the side will want to go with an unchanged eleven for this game. There will be high hopes on the batsmen once again and this time the crowd will hope that they score a lot more runs. Alzarri Joseph and Sheldon Cottrell will take up the pace responsibility along with Keemo Paul while Hayden Walsh and Roston Chase will handle the spin duties.

Predicted XI: Shai Hope (wk), Evin Lewis, Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Hayden Walsh, Alzarri Joseph, Sheldon Cottrell.

Ireland

Ireland will open the innings with Paul Stirling and Gareth Delany once again. Andrew Balbirnie will come out at three followed by William Porterfield and Kevin O’Brien. Lorcan Tucker will keep wickets in this side. The fast bowling unit will be as it is in the last game. They have done a good job in the last game and will hope to keep up the good work once again.

Predicted XI: Paul Stirling, Gareth Delany, Andrew Balbirnie (c), William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Andy McBrine, Boyd Rankin.

Focus will be on

Shai Hope (West Indies)

Shai Hope is one of the most consistent batsmen for West Indies. He tried to be slightly aggressive in the last game and got out for just 13 runs. This time though, he’d hate to miss out on such a wonderful batting surface. The wicket-keeper batsman is expected to put up a big score on the board.

William Porterfield (Ireland)

William Porterfield is the senior-most batsman in the Ireland batting line-up. Watching their performance in the last game, he has got to take the onus upon himself. He should look to make the best use of his experience and must get a big score. Unlike in the last match where he was defensive, he should try to counterattack in the upcoming match.

Head to Head

Matches – 10:  West Indies won – 8 | Ireland won – 1 | N/R – 1

Stat Attack

1 – The difference in terms of runs for the two highest run-scorers for Ireland in ODIs. Paul Stirling has 4053 runs while William Porterfield has mustered 4052 runs.

Broadcast Details

Live Streaming – Fan Code

Match timings – 01:00 PM local time (10:30 PM IST) (05:00 PM UTC)