West Indies vs South Africa Prediction: South Africa won last five games

West Indies and South Africa battle it out at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, come 7th August 2024. The previous five games went the way of South Africa. Who will take this cricket encounter?

It was just last month that Kraigg Brathwaite's side was beaten 0-3 by England, never in the match in any of those three games. They will have to leave that series defeat at the back of their minds now as they face up to South Africa. Brathwaite is expecting his batters to show some fight, trying to break their winless streak in Test matches. Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis will have the onus of laying a good platform up the order against the South African pace attack. Alick Athanaze has shown promise as a player, and he will have to make runs in the middle order with Keacy Carty and Kavem Hodge. The lower middle order has Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva whom the team will look up to. The onus will be on the bowling attack to make sure that the fancy South Africa batting lineup catches some pressure. Jayden Seales and Kemar Roach will try to strike early with the new ball, whereas Shamar Joseph and Jason Holder try to keep the runs down in the middle overs. Gudakesh Motie had shown some great resolve on the tour to England and he is expected to come good again.

Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Mikyle Louis, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph, Keacy Carty, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales

Temba Bavuma's team is looking for a stable start in the upcoming two-match series. After a gap of 6 months, the team looks to make a comeback from the 0-2 loss in New Zealand. Historically, they have enjoyed success over West Indies in this format, and Bavuma is banking on an early advantage in the series. This will largely depend on opening batsmen Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi providing them with a good start. The middle order, led by Tristan Stubbs, will be tasked with stitching partnerships with Bavuma and David Bedingham. Kyle Verreynne and Kagiso Rabada will have a scope to express themselves lower down the order. A potent bowling attack in the form of Nandre Burger and Kagiso Rabada will look for early scalps. Lungi Ngidi and Dane Paterson have to bring their act in the middle overs. Keshav Maharaj is the only spinner; hence, he is expected to bowl long spells which should be effective.

Temba Bavuma(c), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(wk), Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson

The West Indies team has very well showcased their inconsistency in the format. Despite showing efforts, the team never got to have a good middle order and has always been the victim of frequent changes in their lineup. Their batsmen have to come good and make runs to win the match. On the other hand, South Africa has a strong pace attack with greater experience in their batting line-up; hence, the balance of strength is in favor of South Africa's winning this match.