World Cup 2019, Match 42: Afghanistan vs West Indies – Fantain Fantasy Cricket Tips

India beat Bangladesh to take the second spot of the table. Rohit Sharma has found his mojo and at the right time at that. It was a good fight back by Bangladesh. They can technically be ruled out of the tournament along with Afghanistan, West Indies, South Africa and soon, Sri Lanka. Here is all you need to read for both the teams before picking your Fantain XI.

Team News:

Afghanistan

Afghanistan has lost 8 out of 8 matches. A lot was expected from certain individual players. For instance, the spinners – supposedly one of the strong points of the team – conceded 243 of the 397 runs against England. That was never a good sign.

Naib took a lot of flak for taking the ball in the last over against Pakistan. That over cost him 18 runs. Hindsight vision is 20/20.

In this final match of the World Cup, Afghanistan will hope to win. The team has not scored heavy, nor did they make too much headway with wickets. But seeing as West Indies is not in too great a shape either and Afghanistan almost defeated India; this match could be a thriller indeed.

Predicted XI: Hamid Hassan, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shinwari, Gulbadin Naib (c), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Mujeeb Ur Rahman

West Indies

Another team with that entered with huge potential but did not deliver to say the least is West Indies. They started the tournament by winning against Pakistan by 7 wickets. It has all been down-hill since.

Pooran and Brathwaite have pulled their weight but the lack of support from the rest of the team has cost them dearly.

There was a lot of hype with respect to Nabi, Rashid and Mujeeb. They were unable to take the pressure that comes with a tournament of this magnitude.

They are not there yet.

Predicted XI: Chris Gayle, Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Shannon Gabriel

Top Picks

Gayle: This would be his final ODI. He stated that he would retire after World Cup 2019. This is his last chance to exit with a bang. A lot of fireworks can be expected from Gayle.

Nabi: If you are looking for an all-rounder to bring in both runs and wickets, Nabi from Afghanistan is him. He is the lead wicket taker of the team so far.

Hetmyer and Hope: With the final battle in the tournament, it is up to these batsmen to help West Indies exit the tournament with their heads held high.

Fantain Fantasy XI:

Batsmen:  Gayle, Hetmyer, Shah

Bowlers: Cottrel, Rashid Khan, Ur Rahman

All-Rounders: Naib, Holder, Nabi

WK: Pooran, Hope

This is our Fantain Fantasy XI but you’re the real expert.