ICC CWC Qualifier Warm-up: In-form WI Taking on Confident UAE
Match Overview
The much-awaited event ICC World Cup Qualifiers begins on June 18 and the West Indies vs UAE match would be a perfect platform to get into the rhythm and strike the form. In the 7th Match of the Qualifiers warm-up, West Indies will square off against the UAE at Takashinga Sports Club, Harare on 15 June at 12:30 PM IST. Windies recently toured UAE for a three-match ODI series and won it quite comfortably. Therefore, both teams know their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and this contest is a must-watch one.
Pitch Report
The pitch is an absolute belter and offers very little to the bowlers. The match between Zimbabwe and Oman saw 300+ runs scored in both innings. Therefore, captains winning the toss would want to put some runs on the board.
Teams Analysis
Team West Indies
Over the years Windies have not been at their best in the ODIs. They are still a force in the T20Is but they have struggled to find a strong position in the ODIs. Therefore, they have to go through these qualifiers to be eligible to play in the ODI World Cup later this year. Recently, they won the series in UAE and tried to find out their best team combination. Shai Hope would be the skipper.
On Tuesday, Windies won against Scotland and further boosted their confidence. They batted first but couldn’t make a huge total. Shai Hope and Romario Shepherd made half-centuries. The bowling was outstanding which get them over the line. They bundled out Scotland on 173 and won the match by 91 runs. Yannic Cariah stole the show with his 4-fer and Roston Chase picked 3 wickets to finish the game. It was a remarkable win and they would certainly carry that energy in this match.
Team UAE
They are under pressure for now, especially in this match. Since they lost the series at home against Windies, they would want to resolve their mistakes and learn from the past. Muhammed Waseem would be the captain and he would be under pressure to perform. He wasn’t at his best against the Windies in that series too. He would want to come back strongly here.
On Tuesday, UAE beat Nepal by just 3 wickets means a small margin. They bowled first and leaked too many runs as Nepal set the target of 276. Ali Naseer who made his ODI debut in the series against Windies, picked up a 4-fer. He stole the show once again like his performance in all three matches against Windies. Sanchit Sharma and Meiyappan took 2 wickets each. Overall, the economy of the other bowlers was on the higher side.
When they chased the target, captain Waseem went early and Aryansh Sharma hit a half-century. A couple of more contributions came from other batters but Rohan Mustafa’s 77 was the standout performance. Somehow they won it but it wasn’t a clinical performance. They need to do a lot more if they want to win against the mighty Windies.
Head-to-Head Records
When they met each other, Windies dominated the match proceedings and won all the matches.
| Total Matches | WI won | UAE won | No Result (NR) |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Key Players To Watch
We will take the stats of the Windies’ previous match against Scotland.
Team West Indies
| Player | Runs | Batting Strike Rate | Wickets | Bowling Economy |
| S Hope | 57 | 87.6 | ||
| K Carty | 32 | 68 | ||
| R Shepherd | 53 | 155.8 | ||
| Y Cariah | 4 | 5.1 | ||
| R Chase | 3 | 7.2 |
Team UAE
| Player | Runs | Batting Strike Rate | Wickets | Bowling Economy |
| A Sharma | 50 | 102 | ||
| R Mustafa | 77 | 137.5 | 1 | 3.8 |
| A Naseer | 27 | 96.4 | 4 | 5.2 |
| K Meiyappan | 2 | 6.2 | ||
| S Sharma | 2 | 6.2 |
Squads
Team West Indies
Shai Hope(c & wk), Johnson Charles, Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Keacy Carty, Jason Holder, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, Yannic Cariah,
Team UAE
Muhammad Waseem (c), Aryansh Sharma, Vriitya Aravind(wk), Rameez Shahzad, Asif Khan, Rohan Mustafa, Ali Naseer, Basil Hameed, Sanchit Sharma, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Aayan Afzal Khan, Zahoor Khan, Ethan DSouza
WI vs UAE Winning Fantasy Predictions
Team West Indies
Team UAE
Predicted Playing XI
Team West Indies
Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Shamarh Brooks, Shai Hope (c & wk), Keacy Carty, Jason Holder, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Alzaari Joseph, Yannic Cariah, Keemo Paul
Team UAE
Muhammad Waseem (c), Aryansh Sharma (wk), Vriitya Aravind, Rameez Shahzad, Basil Hameed, Ali Naseer, Asif Khan, Rohan Mustafa, Sanchit Sharma, Zahoor Khan, Karthik Meiyappan
Fantasy Playing XI
Conclusion
The preparation for ICC World Cup Qualifiers has already begun. The teams are looking for the right combination of players. Windies would be pleased with their last match performance but they need to improve their batting. On the other hand, UAE is already under pressure as they were handed defeat earlier but they would come up with new strategies and plans. Can they finally beat Windies or will it be a one-sided affair? We need to wait and watch for this match.
