WI vs NZ Preview ICC CWC 2019: Must win game for West Indies as exit looms

West Indies are currently languishing at the 7th spot in the ICC World Cup 2019 Points Table and they can't afford any further loss to stay in semi-finals contention

The West Indies cricket team face a do-or-die battle against a formidable New Zealand cricket team in a crucial ICC World Cup 2019 tie at the Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday.

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The West Indies are currently languishing at the seventh spot in the ICC World Cup 2019 Points Table with just three points in their kitty and they can't afford any further loss to stay in the mix for a semifinal spot.

The Windies started their World Cup campaign with a bang, demolishing Pakistan by seven wickets.

But since then, things have gone from bad to worse for the Caribbeans and they have suffered three defeats (against Australia, England and Bangladesh) while the game against South Africa was washed out.

For West Indies, the loss against Bangladesh, despite posting a big total of 321 runs, would be the most disappointing performance. Barring Chris Gayle, the West Indies' batting has started clicking but the performance of their bowlers would be a major cause of concern for skipper Jason Holder.

While Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer and Holder have been holding the fort with the bat, Gayle and Andre Russell have let down the team badly.

On the bowling front, all the West Indian bowlers looked ordinary and leaked runs against Bangladesh. And the likes of Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel and Oshane Thomas need to pull up their socks before it is too late.

The Kiwis, on the other hand, are sitting pretty at the second spot with nine points, which includes four wins out of five games with the match against India being washed out.

New Zealand have so far defeated Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and South Africa but their real test starts now as after West Indies, they will have three tough encounters against Pakistan, Australia and England.

In their last match against South Africa, skipper Kane Williamson played a match-winning knock of 106 not out to guide New Zealand home in a tense final over finish while chasing a modest 242-run target.

Colin de Grandhomme, who made 60 off 47 besides bowling an economical spell of 1/33, also played a vital role along side Williamson in that victory.

But with tough matches in the offing, Williamson would look for bigger contributions from the likes of Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor and Tom Latham.

West Indies v New Zealand playing 11 prediction

West Indies playing 11: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope(w), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder(c), Andre Russell, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Shannon Gabriel

New Zealand playing 11:  New Zealand playing 11: Kane Williamson (C), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult.

ICC World Cup 2019, Match 29: West Indies v New Zealand Live streaming details

Date and Day: June 22, 2019, Saturday.

Place: Old Trafford, Manchester

Time: 3:00 pm IST, 13:30 am local time

The World Cup 2019 West Indies v New Zealand match live streaming will be available live on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 with English Commentary and Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD with Hindi Commentary. The live streaming of the World Cup 2019 West Indies v New Zealand match will be available on Hotstar.

Squads: 

New Zealand World Cup squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Tom Blundell.

West Indies World Cup squad: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Shai Hope (wk), Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas