West Indies vs Pakistan, 4th T20I: Fantasy Preview

West Indies will look to level the series when they take on Pakistan in the fourth and final Twenty20 International at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Tuesday (August 3). The visitors won the second T20I by seven runs, while the remaining two encounters were washed out.

GROUND DETAILS AND TEAM COMBINATION

While the pacers picked up nine out of the 10 wickets (excluding run-outs) in the second T20I, it was the spinners who kept the runs down. In fact, the wicket of Andre Fletcher, picked up by Mohammad Hafeez was the only wicket that was picked up by a spinner in the match.

However, there could be some more wear and tear on the track, which could pave way for the spinners to have a little more of the wicket share. Hence, apart from Hafeez, we have also gone for two more frontline spinners.

Historically, however, the venue has favoured the pacers with a percentage of 62-38 split in T20Is. While the pacers have picked up a wicket every 19 runs and 16.1 balls apart, the corresponding numbers for the spinners happen to be 22.7 and 21.2 respectively.

As mentioned earlier, the spinners (6.4) have been a little more economical than the pacers (7.1), but it is the wickets that give you points in fantasy cricket hence, we recommend you to stock your team with one extra pacer or an equal amount of both would also be fine.

SUGGESTED TEAMS

While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Based on your preferences, the platform will guide you to create the ideal fantasy XI.

CAPTAIN

Mohammad Rizwan has had a phenomenal year, which has seen him beat Paul Stirling’s record of registering the most runs in T20Is in a calendar year. His 46 in the previous match saw him go to 752 runs at 94 this year, in which he has also scored seven fifties and one century. Rizwan, who led Multan Sultans to their maiden PSL title earlier this year, has been Pakistan’s mainstay with the bat since his return and the fact that he is a terrific wicketkeeper further pushes his case to lead your fantasy side.

Our Criclytics Player projector predicts Rizwan could score 41-61 runs in this match.

X-FACTORS

Nicholas Pooran has blown hot and cold in the recent matches, but there’s no denying that he is a terrific talent in the side and can turn the match on its heads in a span of a few deliveries. That’s what he did in the first T20I when he almost took West Indies home with an explosive 62 not out off just 33 deliveries – his first fifty in 2021. This could be the knock that turns things around for Pooran, who will look to help his team draw level in what is effectively a three-match series, following a washout in Barbados.

Our Criclytics Player projector predicts Pooran could score 28-42 runs in this match.

Hasan Ali has had a terrific 2021, which has seen him accumulate 17 wickets at 14.64 from in T20Is. His economy rate of 7.86 and balls per wicket ratio of 11.1 is not too bad either. His strength is his pace, which is consistently over the 140 KMPH mark and if he can get the ball moving, he is all the more deadly. 

Our Criclytics Player projector predicts Hasan could take 0-1 wicket in this match.

Jason Holder is proving to be a handy T20 cricketer. He fared well in the brief stints he had in the BBL and IPL to go with his consistent performances in the CPL. That has seemed to have benefitted him as he went on register his best bowling figures of 4 for 26 in the previous game. Not to forget, Holder is a brutal hitter as well and could tonk a few big ones at the death if needed.

Our Criclytics Player projector predicts Holder could score 14-20 runs and take 2-3 wickets in this match.

Here are the top-11 picks as per Criclytics projected points:

MATCH-UPS

West Indies could use Andre Russell against Shadab Khan and Usman Qadir. In T20Is, the powerful all-rounder has a strike rate of over 200 against legspinners in the last five years. You can check out more in-depth projections and key match-ups for this match here.

PROBABLE XIs

West Indies: Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Dwayne Bravo, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh, Akeal Hosein.

Pakistan: Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Usman Qadir.