Cricket
Get Ready for the Upcoming T20 Series between England and the West Indies
After England’s disastrous defense of the World Cup in India this fall, they finally have a chance to put their limited overs woes behind them with a T20 series against the West Indies in the Caribbean. A new-look English side will be aiming to do all it can to put pressure on India at the top of the world rankings, while the hosts will look to pile further misery on a fragile set of tourists.
Here’s all you need to know about the upcoming showdown.
West Indies
The hosts find themselves in a bit of a pickle after two underwhelming T20 World Cup campaigns, firstly in the UAE in 2021 and again in Australia late last year. To add insult to injury, they were embarrassingly knocked out by Ireland in the preliminary group stage in the latter of those two, a stark contrast to years gone by.
Now, there’s a clear sense that they need to prove their worth in what used to be the Windies’ strongest-performing format of the game. Daren Sammy, the man behind West Indies’ T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016 in a playing capacity, has taken on the role of white-ball coach and is already turning things around. Since their disappointing 50-over qualifier in June, they’ve managed to defeat the mighty rankings-topping Men in Blue as well as a lackluster England in ODI’s.
Sammy, the mastermind behind the scenes, brings together a star-studded T20 cast once more. Even players like Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran, and Kyle Mayers, who rejected central contracts from Cricket West Indies (CWI), are back in action for the upcoming home tournament.
England
England is also facing the crunch of player availability and the global T20 calendar, typical in the Caribbean. However, they still hold the upper hand to call the shots. Poor Will Jacks; he must have felt hard done by missing out on a central contract. But at least he’s one of the contenders aiming for the spotlight as Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott prepare for their second World Cup defense within a year with the T20 version of the tournament taking place next year.
There will also be chances for the likes of Phil Salt, who already boasts a World Cup winner’s medal to his name but was unfortunately sidelined for the New Zealand series in September. We can’t forget about Ben Duckett and Rehan Ahmed either, eager to shine and impress. And let’s not overlook the chance for John Turner to make his international debut. He’s the newest addition to the seam-bowling squad and has made quite the impact with his performances in the Blast and the Hundred during the summer.
Russell Remains the Star of the Windies Show
Andre Russell is truly one of a kind when it comes to T20 cricket. His remarkable performances across various leagues, particularly his ten-year stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and his crucial role in two World T20 victories, have established him as one of the greatest MVPs of the format. However, it has been over two years since his last appearance on the international stage, and questions linger about whether a 35-year-old all-rounder with a history of knee problems can still dominate the game. Nonetheless, Russell’s mere presence is enough to instill confidence in the West Indies – with him active, there’s hope that they can recapture their mojo.
Can Jos Buttler Prove He’s Still the Man in T20s?
Is a change as rejuvenating as a vacation? Jos Buttler is about to find out. He’s been in action non-stop since the beginning of August, first in the Hundred, then during England’s ill-fated World Cup campaign, followed immediately by playing in the Caribbean. In recent weeks, he’s appeared increasingly weary. Although he managed to break his streak of bad form with a half-century in Antigua last week, his fortunes took a dive with a golden duck in the subsequent loss in Barbados. Perhaps a return to opening the batting will bring the clarity and focus that he desperately needs.
The Stadiums
First up, we’ve got the iconic Kensington Oval, located in Bridgetown, Barbados. This stadium has seen many legendary performances over the years and is sure to make for an electrifying atmosphere.
Next, we’ve got the National Cricket Stadium in St. George’s, Grenada. This one might not have the same history as the previous amphitheater, but it’s certainly no rookie when it comes to hosting international matches. It will host the second and third games in this series, and the locals will hope that they are dominant victories for the hosts.
Last but certainly not least, we have the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad. Named after the one and only Brian Lara, this stadium will host the deciding fourth and fifth matches.
Who knows why America was chosen to host the 2024 T20 World Cup when the average American has no clue what cricket even is, let alone seen a game? As the host nation, they’ve automatically qualified for the tournament.
The ICC is hoping that this tournament, which runs from June 1 to 29, 2024, can finally win the American crowd over and turn them into cricket lovers. If Team America can go on a dream run, it’ll surely capture the imagination of the public. The country loves winners, and nothing gets people talking like an underdog story.
Currently, America is priced at +25000 to win the T20 World Cup. However, those odds feel mighty short. If America lifts the trophy, it’d be one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Despite cricket being the fringest of fringe sports in the USA, the Americans have started the campaign with a win, downing Canada in the opening match of the tournament!
America Too Strong For Canada
America put on an epic performance for the home crowd in the very first match at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Canada batted first and put up a huge 194-run total. They could’ve even been more aggressive, as they only lost five wickets.
Navneet Dhaliwal was the highest scorer for Canada, who racked up an impressive innings of 61 runs. Nicholas Kirton was also in fine form with 51 runs. The American bowlers really struggled, giving up lots of easy runs and only managed to take three wickets, with the other two being runouts.
With such a big total to chase, we weren’t giving the Americans much of a chance, but they proved everyone wrong. Despite opening batsman Steven Taylor being dismissed for a duck, Monank Patel and Andries Gous steadied the ship. Patel scored 16, which included two boundaries, while Gous was on fire 65 runs from just 46 balls.
Even more impressive was Aaron Jones’ innings. The Bangladesh Premier League Player single-handedly won the game for Team USA, scoring 90 runs not out. He smashed an incredible 10 sixes and four boundaries. 25% of the balls he faced were hit for six, which is totally unheard of. After a performance like that, more than a few Indian Premier League teams will be interested in the 29-year-old, who was born in Queens, New York.
America Is in a Tough Group
In the 2024 T20 World Cup, the 20 teams are divided into four groups, and each side plays against their group mates once. Then, the top two teams from each group progress to the knockout stage, dubbed the Super 8. Unfortunately for America, two cricketing powerhouses, Pakistan and India, are in their group.
It’s one thing beating Canada, but it’s a totally different kettle of fish, getting a win over India, who are the tournament favorites. If America is going to progress to the playoffs, they’re going to have to beat either Pakistan or India and also take out Ireland.
In all three games, they’ll be massive underdogs but definitely have enough talent to take out Ireland. Even a miracle probably wouldn’t be enough to beat India, but there’s a very slim chance of taking out Pakistan, who can be inconsistent and don’t play the best on the road.
Don’t Miss June 12 When USA Takes On India
The pivotal game that will make or break USA’s T20 World Cup campaign is against India on June 12. The game will be played at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in East Meadow, New York.
Aaron Jones will need to muster another superhuman performance for America to get the W. Something tells us that hitting 10 sixes will be slightly more difficult against India’s bowling attack compared to Canada’s mediocre spinners and quicks.
If America is going to cause one of the biggest upsets in sporting history, then their bowlers really need to step up. Ali Khan is America’s secret weapon.
The Pakistan-born fast bowler has played at the highest level, including in the Indian Premier League, and has first-hand experience playing against players from team India. If he can get the ball swinging early, he could trigger a collapse in India’s batting lineup. Fingers crossed, America can progress to the knockout stage!
Read more: How Effective is Bazball in International Cricket?
Shikhar Dhawan raced to 50 off 30 balls, however in the next 20 balls he faced, Shikhar could only score 21 runs. By the time Mohsin Khan got the better of Shikhar, the game was almost out of Punjab’s hands. KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan are all having problems scoring at a pace that the modern T20 game demands.
The star of the show and the deserved Man of the Match is a young 21-year old pacer named Mayank Yadav. Making his IPL and LSG debut, Mayank finished with figures of 4-27-3 with 12 dot balls. Mayank who plays for Delhi in the domestic circuit had missed last year’s IPL due to injury but has been impressive this season and is an exciting talent for Lucknow and Indian Cricket.
Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock 54 (38), Krunal Pandya 43 (22) / Sam Curran 4-28-3, Arshdeep Singh 3-30-2.
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan 70 (50), Jonny Bairstow 42 (29) / Mayank Yadav 4-27-3, Mohsin Khan 4-34-2.
Nicholas Pooran Stars with the Bat and as Captain
For a change KL Rahul went early for LSG after scoring 15 (9), Devdutt Padikkal that came in also decided to not stick around too long departing after scoring just 9 (6). From this point onwards, the game was always firmly in LSG’s hands. Although there were no big partnerships, everyone that came in contributed especially Nicholas Pooran and Krunal Pandya. At this point , one has to wonder whether the wrong Pandya brother is in contention for the 2024 T20 WC Indian team.
Punjab bowling struggled once again with Harshal Patel and Deepak Chahar once again being the biggest culprits. PBKS do not have the resources in their squad and their bowling may just be the reason that they won’t make the playoffs this year. Another point of discussion is Shikhar’s captaincy, no one has to wonder why he decided to give Harshal his full quota of four overs and only gave Brar two overs and Arshdeep just three overs.
A Crippled Livingstone Could Not Save Punjab
LSG still have a bowling problem but they have half addressed with the addition of Mayank Yadav. No, it’s up to the others to raise their game. If they do, LSG are a very formidable team and can easily make it to the top four this year. At 101/0 in the 11th over and with two set batsmen on the crease, there is no excuse for Punjab for fumbling this chase. Not just Dhawan, but the likes of Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma got out playing awful shots, the latter being an Indian international should be a worry for the national selectors.
The game should have been won by LSG by 40-50 runs but Livingstone who was suffering from a hamstring injury smacked 20 in the last over to help Punjab improve their NRR. It remains to be seen if Livingstone can recover in time for their next game. If not, Punjab will have bigger problems than they already have.
What’s Next
Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings have had contrasting starts to the IPL 2024 season. While Chennai have brushed past RCB and GT, the Capitals have been beaten convincingly by Punjab and Rajasthan. For DC to pick up their first win of the season, they’ll need to step up their performances on all fronts.
CSK could not have hoped for a better start to the season under new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Whether it be batting or bowling, every single player has stepped up and they’ll be hoping for more of the same against Delhi. The bigger question for CSK supporters would be whether they’ll be able to see MS Dhoni bat for the first time this season.
We expect CSK to come out on top, but Delhi may make things difficult for CSK especially if Delhi’s middle order led by captain Rishabh Pant can contribute.
Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings – Match Odds
| Bet | Odds |
| DC to win | 2.24 at FuturePlay |
| CSK to win | 1.65 at FuturePlay |
| Superover | 16.00 at FuturePlay |
Delhi Capitals are too good of a side to be playing so poorly
In all fairness, DC have not looked like a weak team in their 2 games so far. Despite losing both of their opening games, they had every opportunity to win those games but ultimately lost out on key battles at crucial moments of the games. It’s their batting that’s mostly the worry, apart from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh none of the other batters have really stepped up, especially the Indian contingent among them. While it’s good to see Pant back in action on the pitch, it will take some time for the Indian Wicketkeeper to go back to being his best self.
The addition of Mukesh Kumar in place of Ishant Sharma does feel like the right choice although he did go for as many as 49 in the previous game. It’s also a bit of a mystery as to why Pant decided to not give any overs to Mitchell Marsh in their previous game against Rajasthan. Delhi will need to get the win here against CSK, if they are to have any hopes of making it to the playoffs. A loss here would mean they will need to win 8 of their last 11 games to have any chance of qualifying.
CSK are the team to beat in IPL 2024
Chennai are off to the perfect and will be hoping to keep their 100% perfect record against Delhi. The batters have all looked in excellent form and so have their bowlers. The addition of Matheesha Pathirana has in fact bolstered their already strong bowling lineup. As mentioned, when it comes to CSK, neutrals and CSK supporters are not worried about their team making it to the playoffs or not, they are more worried about whether they’ll get to see the legendary MSD make an appearance with the bat in the game.
We expect CSK to pick up another easy win here against Delhi.
FuturePlay Betting Tips – Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings
Don’t see the value in the winner’s market here. Chennai are overwhelming favorites and rightly so.
- Highest Opening Partnership – Delhi Capitals @ 1.97
- R Ravindra to Score a Fifty – Yes @ 3.65
Expected Team Lineups
Delhi Capitals – David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Khalil Ahmed.
Chennai Super Kings – Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana.
When, Where & Trivia
- Venue: ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
- Date: 31st March, 2024
- H2H: In the 29 times these teams have faced each other, Chennai has won 19 times while Delhi have won only 10 times.
- Key Players to Watch: Rishabh Pant (DC) & Rachin Ravindra (CSK)
Crypto Casino Bonuses & Promotions: Maximise Your Rewards
Crypto Casino Security: Are Your Funds Safe?
Bitcoin Gambling: A Comprehensive Guide
Crypto Casinos 101 What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Matter
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) – Future Without Banks?
FuturePlay Guide – 2024 FPV Drone Racing Events
2023 Cricket World Cup Venues
Get Excited For The Rolex Paris Masters 2023
Jannik Sinner Keeps Getting Better & Better!
PREVIEW: AIRSPEEDER FLYING CAR EVENT, 2023
Teacher Turned FPV Drone Racing Pilot: FuturePlay Exclusive with Mako Reactra
How Issa Kalfon became the World’s First Jet Suit Racing Champion
A Look Back at the Badminton Playing Robot Unveiled at the South China Sports Festival
When Man Goes Against Machine: Introducing Cue6
