World Cup 2019: 3 reasons why Pakistan might lose to West Indies at Trent Bridge
The World Cup 2019 is up and running with the inaugural game between the hosts England and South Africa at The Oval in London. Living up to the 'favorites', hosts England were too good for the Proteas on the given day. The Faf du Plessis-led side fell short by 104 runs in pursuit of a target of 311 runs and gave England a bright start to the tournament.
For the second game, the focus now shifts to another exciting fixture lined up to be played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Match 2 of the World Cup will see two teams with similar problems as they fight to get rid of their 'tag of unpredictability' in this tournament. West Indies will square off against Pakistan, a team which is coming into the competition at the back of two successive series losses and yet could be the dark horses.
On the other hand, West Indies will look to carry their winning momentum from the win against New Zealand in the warm-up game into their opening fixture. Currently, it is no surprise that the Jason Holder-led side is better poised than their opponents, who have plenty to ponder upon before they kick-start their campaign.
Here is a look at three reasons why Pakistan might lose to West Indies at Trent Bridge.
#1 Awful run of form in the lead-up to the World Cup
It was believed that Pakistan would be the best placed team in terms of their preparations for the World Cup with their five-match ODI series against England just ahead of the tournament. However, the 4-0 series loss caused a havoc in the Pakistani think-tank to re-juggle their plans for the mega tournament, forcing them to make three changes in their World Cup squad.
Even before the series loss to England, Pakistan was thrashed by Australia in UAE with a clean sweep in the five-match ODI series. Though it was argued that it wasn't the full strength Pakistan squad on the field, the result was still not ideal.
As the 'Men in Green' gear up for their clash against West Indies, Sarfaraz Ahmed and his team find themselves facing a ten-match losing streakin and it will require them to put up a collective effort to evade thoughts of any previous losses and give their best on the day.