Australia will take on West Indies in the 1st of the 3-matches T20I series on Friday. Mitchell Marsh will lead the full-strength Australian unit while Rovman Powell will captain the power-packed West Indies contingent.
Australia’s T20 batting line up is far from locked in says Matthew Wade, with plenty of spots up for grabs #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/Kdrk2OX3Fx
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 8, 2024
Match Details:
Australia vs West Indies, 1st T20I
Venue: Bellerive Oval, Hobart
Date & Time: February 9th at 1:30 PM IST and 7:00 PM Local Time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+hotstar
What is the Pitch Report for AUS vs WI, 1st T20I?
Bellerive Oval has hosted the majority of the matches in the ICC T20 World Cup held in 2022 and is set to host a bilateral T20I for the first time since February 2018. Out of the 11 T20 matches played here, the sides batting first holds a better record with 6 wins. The highest recorded score here is 213 and the lowest is 118.
Recent form:
Australia: Lost, Lost, Won, Lost, Lost
West Indies: Won, Lost, Lost, Won, Won
AUS vs WI, 1st T20I Probable Winners:
Australia are expected to win this match.
What is the Expected, Probable Starting XIs for AUS vs WI, 1st T20I?
Australia
David Warner, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson / Jason Behrendorff, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
West Indies
Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shai Hope, Sherfane Rutherford / Romario Shepherd, Rovman Powell (c), Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph / Oshane Thomas
Rishabh Pant is ready to make a comeback ahead of the 2024 #T20WorldCup 👀👉 https://t.co/N9z59TYuNg pic.twitter.com/0Hpvp0hefD
— ICC (@ICC) February 7, 2024
Injury Updates:
Aaron Hardie replaces injured Matthew Short while Spencer Johnson has been drafted into the Australian squad as a cover-up for Nathan Ellis who is recovering from a rib injury.
What are the Fantasy Cricket Top Picks, Players for AUS vs WI, 1st T20I?
Top Pick – Batter
Rovman Powell doesn’t hold a good recent record in the T20 Leagues, making only 71 runs in 7 matches in the ILT20 but he will be a different player when he dons the West Indies colors as he averages 33 in his last 5 T20Is.
Top Pick – All-Rounder
Andre Russell showcased his ruthless power hitting in the ILT20 for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, smashing 192 runs in 6 innings at a whopping strike rate of 228.57 and even picking up 8 wickets in 8 matches.
Top Pick – Bowler
Josh Hazlewood brings vast experience into a tad inexperienced Australian bowling line-up. He picked up 58 wickets in 41 T20Is with the best figures of 4 for 12.
Top Pick – Wicketkeeper
Nicholas Pooran is in blazing form this year and heads into the series on the back of an astonishing run in the ILT20 for MI Emirates, racking up 261 runs in 8 matches at an average of 43.5. He even had a good short stay for Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20, collecting 86 runs in 3 matches at a strike rate of 159.25.
The No.1 bowler in ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings 😎Details ➡️ https://t.co/FLqiGNGUTr pic.twitter.com/l0Rqka9Gdj
— ICC (@ICC) February 7, 2024
X-Factor:
Glenn Maxwell played his last T20I innings in November against India where he guided Australia to sole victory in the 5-matches T20I series with an impeccable 104* from just 48 balls. He currently tied up with Suryakumar Yadav for the second most centuries in T20Is with 4 to his name.
What are the Fantasy Suggested teams for AUS vs WI, 1st T20I?
1. Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Rovman Powell, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell (c), Andre Russell (vc), Marcus Stoinis, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Akeal Hosein
2. Nicholas Pooran (c), Shai Hope, Josh Inglis, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh (vc), Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Glenn Maxwell, Andre Russell, Adam Zampa, Alzarri Joseph
New Zealand will be without the services of Daryl Mitchell for the second Test against South Africa.➡ https://t.co/tEFiaEL1hl#WTC25 | #NZvSA pic.twitter.com/zxllzA3oqw
— ICC (@ICC) February 8, 2024
Pre-Match Analysis:
With the T20 World Cup around the corner, Australia will have a handful of matches to try out different combinations and it’s the best time for them to experiment against the full-strength Men in Maroon side. They have only left out Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Steven Smith, and Travis Head citing workloads. Mitchell Marsh has been handed the responsibility to lead the side that features the return of their big guns David Warner and Josh Hazlewood. They have to make subtle adjustments to their batting line-up with Josh Inglis in the line open alongside David Warner. The star all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis bring more firepower to the middle order. Josh Hazlewood will lead the bowling line-up which has Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Adam Zampa, and Spencer Johnson. David Warner comes into the side on the back of an ordinary ILT20 campaign for Dubai Capitals and it will be interesting how he goes in the series. In the absence of their premier players, the Aussies lost their previous T20I series against India 4-1.
Most of the West Indies stars have arrived in Australia after fulfilling their commitments in the T20 Leagues including Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Jason Holder, Johnson Charles, Sherfane Rutherford, Kyle Mayers, and skipper Rovman Powell. The side looks highly dangerous with rich experience in the Big Bash League for different sides that will come out handy in the series. Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Oshane Thomas, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, and Gudakesh Motie are the only players who have retained their places from the preceding ODI series that lost 3-0. They won all their 3 bilateral T20I series last year including identical 3-2 series win over India and England at home.