West Indies showed what they are really capable of with a smart victory against Pakistan in their last match, a win which revived their ICC World Cup 2015 campaign after that opening loss to Ireland. The team from the Caribbean will now look to carry that good performance to Tuesday at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, when they take on Zimbabwe, a team which have shown they are quite capable of tripping up the big teams.
The West Indies were quite impressive against Pakistan, putting on a big score batting first against a potent bowling attack, before absolutely ripping through their batting top order.
The bowling performance, in particular, would have been encouraging, with Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder creating havoc at the top as Pakistan crashed t0 1/4. That early ripper of a start meant an eventual easy victory, and West Indies will hope for a similar performance against Zimbabwe.
"I expect a very good game," said West Indies captain Jason Holder. "I don't think any game in this tournament is a walkover but at the same time, I will back my players to secure our plans and come out on top."
While West Indies have scored more than 300 runs in both matches at this World Cup – Ireland chased it down easily in the first game -- it has never been as convincing as it could have been, with the team, on both occasions, needing some pretty outstanding lower-middle order hitting to get them over that 300 line.
The top order – Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith, in particular – haven't found their groove, but Holder is not too concerned, confident that everyone will start firing soon.
"I'm very confident going forward into this game," added Holder. "I think what is important is that we keep this momentum that we have going. I think we still have room for improvement. Obviously we can cut a few of our boundary balls when we bowl.
"I think if we can get a few more contributions going deeper into the innings in terms of the top order, I think we can get close to 350 plus, and I think that is not beyond us because of our firepower in the middle and the end.
"I think we still have to improve, too, in our fielding. I think we could be a lot sharper in the field and give a better account of ourselves."
Gayle's form has been the biggest concern for West Indies, with the left-hander looking a pale shadow of the unstoppable T20 machine that he is. West Indies know if they can get Gayle to start firing like only he can then their threat increases ten-fold.
"Chris is awake. I can assure you he's awake," said Holder. "He was awake from the beginning of the tournament.
"Every time I see Chris Gayle, I expect to see one Chris Gayle, and that's a positive Chris Gayle. We still have a lot of confidence in him."
Zimbabwe, after nearly upsetting South Africa, showed good composure to chase down a tricky total against UAE, after finding themselves in some early trouble. Sean Williams and Craig Ervine were the main men of that chase, which is good in a sense for Zimbabwe, as they got to that target without too much help from Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza.
The African side know if they play up to their full potential, they will be a hard side to beat.
"The guys are really working hard and are very focused," said Masakadza. "The guys are a little bit more focused on the actual cricket and giving sort of the cricket side a little bit more of what they need. I think looking forward and going ahead, I think things are looking up for it."
Where to Watch Live
Get the highlights of Gayle's knock
Get the Report on Chris Gayle's Incredible knock
Get the Live Scorecard of the match
The match will begin at 2.30 pm local time (9 am IST, 3.30 am GMT, 10.30 pm ET) with live coverage in India on the Star Sports network and several other regional channels. West Indies vs Zimbabwe is also live online on Starsports.com or Star Sports Live Pro.
Viewers in Southern Africa and Sub Saharan Africa can watch the match live on SuperSport with the live streaming option on SuperSport Live.
Audience in the US can live stream the match on Watch ESPN or watch it on TV on ESPN, while Australia viewers can do so on Channel 9 and Fox Sports. The match can also be live streamed in Australia on Foxtel and Cricket Australia Live.
Viewers in the UK can watch the match live on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Go.
