New-look Windies search for winning formula

After a rousing start in Group A over the weekend, the action at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 shifts to Group B on Monday with two-time winners West Indies taking on Scotland in Hobart in their first match of the tournament.

It has been anything but smooth sailing for West Indies in the recent past. The squad that arrived in Australia have found the going tough, losing a T20I series against the hosts, and just about managing to see off a spirited UAE side in one of the warm-up games. Having underperformed in the previous edition, skipper Nicholas Pooran has his task cut out as he tries to rebuild West Indies as the powerhouse of T20I cricket, which they were, not so long ago.

The current Windies squad lacks the stardust and depth of Daren Sammy's teams that went on to lift the cup twice. It also remains to be seen how much Shimron Hetmyer's absence, having missed his flight before subsequently being dropped, will affect the side. Hetmyer and his big hits will be sorely missed but the former champions have enough in the tank to start proceedings with a win. West Indies and Scotland's previous warm-up games were washed out due to rain. There aren't too many punters betting on Pooran's side going all the way in the tournament but they are expected to progress to the Super 12s.

Scotland, meanwhile, come into the game on the back of a win against Netherlands. Richie Berrington's side had a memorable outing last year and will fancy their chances as West Indies have looked shaky with bat and ball in recent times. The Windies still have a bevy of big-hitters, including captain Pooran himself but their inexperienced bowling attack will still have to do very well to go far in the T20 World Cup.

Since the 2021 T20 World Cup, Scotland haven't played much cricket and were comfortably outplayed when they clashed against New Zealand in the run-up to the tournament. They barely scraped through a win against the Dutch and will have to rely on Berrington, Josh Davey and Brad Wheal. Bowling remains a concern for the Scots and they will have to be on top of their game if they have to pull off a giant-killing act.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe and Ireland will lock horns in the second match of the day, to get underway at 2:00pm Bangladesh time.

Having defeated Afghanistan in a T20I series two months ago, Ireland would be high on confidence. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, will certainly have a point to prove as they couldn't qualify for last year's T20 WC.

The venue has hosted three T20Is so far with the first-innings score being 182. As the numbers suggest, the track is fruitful for batters. The bowlers will have a job in hand.

The two sides have crossed swords in eight concluded T20Is so far with the head-to-head record being 5-3 in Ireland's favour.

Ireland must fancy their chances of qualifying for the Super 12 stage as they played some quality cricket against Afghanistan. Skipper Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling and, George Dockrell are veterans of this format and their numbers are impressive as well.

Zimbabwe can't be taken lightly either as they also enjoy services of some potent players. Sikandar Raza will pose the biggest threat to Ireland.