Pakistan vs. West Indies: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Cricket World Cup Preview
Pakistan and West Indies will meet in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Saturday for their second 2015 Cricket World Cup match, with the fixture expected to start at 11 a.m. local time (10 p.m. GMT, Friday).
Both teams are coming off disappointing losses against India and Ireland, respectively, and desperately need a win to keep their chances of qualifying for the next round alive.
Pakistan should be favourites against a reeling Windies squad, but with West Indies' deep group of batsmen capable of flipping the switch at any given moment, victory will be far from guaranteed.
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All stats courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo.
Date: Saturday, February 21
Time: 11 a.m. local time/10 p.m. GMT (on Friday)
Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch
TV info and live stream: The official broadcasters of the 2015 Cricket World Cup are Sky Sports (UK) and ESPN (U.S.). Mobile coverage is available via the Sky Go app and Watch ESPN.
Preview
West Indies' four-wicket loss against Ireland went down as a big upset, but given the current state of the Windies' side, one has to wonder why.
Monday's defeat was a prime example of the issues of concentration and the lax approach plaguing the side. Ireland's target of 304 only came as the result of a late outburst from Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy, as the vaunted batsmen preceding them hardly made an impression.
Ireland deserve a ton of credit—and perhaps a change in status, though that is food for another article—for Monday's result, but this tweet from Paddy Power is as much praise for the Irish as it is an indictment of the West Indies:
A target of 304 should have sufficed to beat Ireland, but Windies' bowling simply imploded during the chase. Jason Holder (4.88) was the only bowler to keep his economy rate under five—Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach both went over eight in a dreadful performance:
By contrast, Pakistan's 76-run loss against rivals and defending champions India wasn't nearly as embarrassing. The score wasn't as ugly, but the loss may have been even more demoralising.
Pakistan are still winless against their hated rivals in World Cup history, and the trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina heaped misery on a squad that actually played well in their opener.
Sohail Khan (10 overs, 55 runs, five wickets) and Wahab Riaz (10 overs, 49 runs) shone brightest with the ball, and the duo will have plenty of opportunities to do damage against the Windies' batsmen, whose tendency to play too aggressive and at times reckless cricket has come back to haunt them in the past few months.
Indeed, Saturday's clash will feature a host of batsmen who like to swing or the fences. And with both teams desperately needing a win, via the event's official Twitter feed, fans should be in for a spectacle:
"Pakistan vs West Indies will be a very exciting match, both teams coming off losses and desperately need a win now. #CWC15 #PAKvWI
— ICC World Cup 2015 (@_WorldCup2015_) February 18, 2015"
Umar Akmal contributed no runs against India, getting caught on his fifth ball, and fans will be hoping the 24-year-old star steps up his game and lives up to his talent against West Indies. Likewise, Windies will expect more from Dwayne Smith (18 runs) and Darren Bravo (run out after four deliveries—no runs).
Pakistan's batsmen fell victim to a fielding exhibition from India in their opener, and fans shouldn't expect a similar performance. The Asian side should be favourites over Windies, who need divine intervention at this point, according to Sammy, via Fox Sports Cricket:
Akmal, Ahmed Shezhad and Misbah-ul-Haq are too talented not to take advantage of Windies' struggles with the ball, while Pakistan's bowlers will feast if the opposing batsmen start chasing deliveries the way they did against Ireland.
West Indies cricket is in a bad place right now, and don't expect that to change on Saturday.
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