April 3, 2016, a date that will still be fresh in England fans' minds. A night where everything went right for them until the last over. England's 50-over World Cup hero had a horrendous night when Carlos Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes to light up the Eden Gardens and create history.
But it has been more than five long years since that game. Present-day, two-time T20 World Champion will take on Eoin Morgan's England in the first game of the Super 12 stage of the mega event. A lot has changed since 2016, England are currently the number one side in T20I while West Indies are at number nine after a string of inconsistent performances. With a different set of players, mindset, and completely different changed conditions at Dubai International Stadium, it will be a test of hard work the two teams have done in the past few years, especially in the last two that were affected by the Covid-19 virus. Here are a few talking points about the major clash.
Toss the boss
Toss will be an important factor in the game. Morgan or Kieron Pollard, whoever wins the toss is highly likely to opt to bowl first. The reason is simple, the dew factor in Dubai at night. The ball will become wet and it will not be easy for the bowlers to grip the ball. Thus, making it easier for the batters to score and chase. A glimpse of the dew effect has been seen in the recently-concluded warm-up game between India and England. With the kind of batting both teams have, any target of less than 160 will not be sufficient. Thus, toss will decide which team will have the upper hand going into the game.
Experience of the captains
Morgan has been captaining the England T20 side since 2012 and has taken England cricket to new heights. He may have lost the 2016 T20 World Cup against West Indies but on the other has helped the team to win their maiden 50-overs ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. Also, Morgan has been a regular captain for the team in white-ball cricket and transformed the team's attitude on the field. Under his captaincy, England have played 64 matches and has won 37 out of it. On the Caribbean side, Pollard has been captaining West Indies T20 team for the last two years. The team's performance has been not been consistent enough as they have won only nine and lost 12 matches in the 26 games played under all-rounder. Thus Morgan’s experience in captaincy will give him an upper edge against Pollard.
Battle of the fearless
With both sides loaded with explosive batters, it will be a thrilling contest to watch with a promise of top-level big-hitting. West Indies have Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicolas Pooran, and the captain himself, Pollard who have the ability to hit the ball into the stands and further whereas England have the likes of Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone and others are capable of stealing the match against any opposition through their aggressive and fearless batting approach.
Morgan’s form a cause of concern
While there have been no doubts about the way Morgan leads his team, his recent form with the bat has been a huge cause of concern. In the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), Morgan may have taken Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) into the final but he hasn’t produced any big scores for them. The 34-year old has scored 4, 0, 5*, 13*, 2*, and 0 in his last six innings. The skipper is going through a very poor phase and this may haunt the England team too in the World Cup as they need an experienced campaigner in the middle overs.
