🏏ICC T20I Men's WC 2024: Match 2: WI vs PNG at Providence, Guyana🏏 - Page 4

WI look to end 12 years of wait

It's been 2982 days since the memorable night at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, something they would be desperate to reclaim especially when the tournament is at home. Their two-time T20 World Cup winning skipper Darren Sammy is back as a coach and the Rovman Powell-led side already made its intention clear with a ruthless win over Australia in a warmup match. But that Australia was a depleted side as only nine players from their squad were available for the match.

Wounded West Indies

But after Windies' maiden title triumph what followed was years of agony as the team found itself lost in transition. In 2021, they endured four defeats in five games to make a Super 12 exit. Worse was in store in the 2022 edition in Australia when they failed to qualify for the main round after shock defeats to minnows Scotland and Ireland.

West Indies will look to redeem themselves at home

More than eight years after Carlos Brathwaite's four sixes at Eden Gardens gave them their second T20 world title, a wounded West Indies will look to redeem themselves at home when they begin their campaign in the event's ninth edition. Brathwaite had slammed Ben Stokes for four successive sixes in the final over to pull off one of the most astonishing chases that made the West Indies the first team to win the T20 World Cup twice. Their maiden triumph was in 2012.

Probable Best Batter of the Match:

Nicholas Pooran has been in fine touch coming out of the IPL 2024. Playing for Lucknow Super Giants he was entrusted with late onslaught as he batted majorly at death. He has a knack for targeting the particular bowler and straining him till the last drop of runs. Having played a substantial amount of cricket in Guyana, he will be the batter to watch out for.

Probable Best Bowler of the Match:

It is imperative to call Russell a first-hand bowler after his exploits in IPL 2024 for Kolkata Knight Riders. The all-rounder picked 19 wickets purely on his variations and slower ones. At times, he hits the deck hard and extracts that surprising bounce baffling the batter. West Indies decks are tailor-made for a bowler like him and he can make a difference.

09:30 Local Time, 13:30 GMT, 19:00 IST: What a start it was for the 2024 World Cup. The hosts United States of America pulled off the third highest successful chase in the tournament's history when they hunted down Canada's 194. It is now time for the other host - West Indies - to show us what they have got as they take on Papua New Guinea. The two time champions will have a point or two to prove after missing out on the ODI WC last year. This is their strongest format and they have an in-form squad coming into this competition which makes them one of the favourites. PNG, on the other hand, are playing their second T20 World Cup and have some experienced players in their ranks. They missed out on the last edition in 2022 but have players who played in the 2021 edition and that will help them on the big stage. Since it is a morning game we might not see high-scoring a contest, but to be sure let's see what the surface beholds. Pitch report and toss coming up.. Stay tuned

Good morning and welcome to matchday two of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The tournament got off to a raucous start as USA pumped Canada in front of 6000 people in Dallas to write a new chapter in cricket's oldest rivalry. Now it's over to the co-hosts and only the second ever meeting between West Indies and Papua New Guinea.

The Caribbean has been gearing up for this tournament in the hope that Rovman Powell's rejuvenated side can become the first to lift the T20 title on home soil. As Ashish Pant writes in the preview, redemption will be on the agenda after the two-time champions suffered two consecutive failures, at the 2021 and 2022 editions.

Nicholas Pooran spoke to Nagraj Gollapudi in the build-up about rekindling the "special feeling" of winning in 2012 and 2016. And while Papua New Guinea come in very much as the underdogs at their second T20 World Cup - having lost all three encounters in 2021 - they have a vastly experienced squad who will be eager to cause an upset. Find out more about them in our team-by-team guide

It's still pretty early in Guyana for the first match of Group C, but we'll set the scene ahead of the toss, scheduled for 10am - and keep our fingers crossed for the weather. 

For PNG, this is their first taste of the competition proper after a flawless display in last year's East Asia-Pacific Qualifier. Their previous appearance in 2021 ended in the first round as they lost all three games in a preliminary group featuring Scotland, Bangladesh and Oman. Ten of the players from that tournament are here for this one, led by the familiar duo of Assad Vala and Charles. Amini as captain and vice-captain, respectively.

There will be a familiar face in the PNG dugout. Phil Simmons, who led West Indies to their second T20 title in 2016, then quit his second stint after what he described as an "unfathomable" first-round exit in 2022's edition, has been recruited by PNG as a specialist coach for this tournament. Their head coach, by the way, is former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu.

Ayush Falor: "Couldn't catch much of the opener as it was a lazy Sunday morning, hoping to watch this game, how is the weather looking will it play a spoilsport?" News from the ground is that it is hot, humid and - for now - dry!

What a start it was for the 2024 World Cup. The hosts United States of America pulled off the third highest successful chase in the tournament's history when they hunted down Canada's 194. It is now time for the other host - West Indies - to show us what they have got as they take on Papua New Guinea. The two time champions will have a point or two to prove after missing out on the ODI WC last year. This is their strongest format and they have an in-form squad coming into this competition which makes them one of the favourites. PNG, on the other hand, are playing their second T20 World Cup and have some experienced players in their ranks. They missed out on the last edition in 2022 but have players who played in the 2021 edition and that will help them on the big stage. Since it is a morning game we might not see high-scoring a contest, but to be sure let's see what the surface beholds. Pitch report and toss coming up.. 

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Toss Prediction by 7:30 PM IST on 02/06/2024

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 What a start it was for the 2024 World Cup. The hosts United States of America pulled off the third highest successful chase in the tournament's history when they hunted down Canada's 194. It is now time for the other host - West Indies - to show us what they have got as they take on Papua New Guinea. The two time champions will have a point or two to prove after missing out on the ODI WC last year. This is their strongest format and they have an in-form squad coming into this competition which makes them one of the favourites. PNG, on the other hand, are playing their second T20 World Cup and have some experienced players in their ranks. They missed out on the last edition in 2022 but have players who played in the 2021 edition and that will help them on the big stage. Since it is a morning game we might not see high-scoring a contest, but to be sure let's see what the surface beholds. Pitch report and toss coming up..