International Cricket: West Indies vs. South Africa 1st T20 Cricket Prediction

South Africa’s tour of the West Indies continues with their first T20 match being played in Grenada. The match will start on Saturday June 26th, 2021 at 2:00pm EST.

This is the first of two back-to-back matches in the 5-match series and both sides are ready to put their best foot forward tomorrow to gain the upper hand.

West Indies last played in the shortest format of the game just recently against Sri Lanka in March, winning that 3-match series 2-1 but they face a tougher assignment against the Proteas. South Africa even more recently, last playing T20 in April against Pakistan, will be hoping for a better showing against this formidable side after losing that series 3-1. The pitch is expected to be a flat surface which will give the batsmen great joy with the weather being the only possible deterrent with a 70% chance of rain. South Africa will be looking to not rest on their laurels after sweeping their opponents 2-0 in the just concluded Test series. The Proteas understand that this shortened version of the game is one on which the Windies thrive and will look to their experienced campaigners to steady the ship.

Temba Bavuma will lead the Proteas after missing out on the Test series through injury while Dwaine Pretorius, the all-rounder has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been ruled out. South Africa’s well balanced side of experience and youth make them quite the team to look out for this series. West Indies, led by Kieron Pollard, will be hoping to change their fortune after losing the Test series. The men in maroon have brought back their more experienced men to help strengthen the side but also prepare for the T20 World Cup which starts in October. Chris Gayle the “Universe Boss” is expected to create havoc for the Proteas 4-prong pace attack along with veterans Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons at the top of the batting order. This is West Indies’ most loved format of the game so they will seek to assert their dominance with that in mind.

With both teams having T20 fixtures under their belt within the last 4 months, I am going to pick West Indies to win this match. Based on the experience of the team along with homecourt advantage, they have the upper hand. Don’t quite count out South Africa though as they may just pull off the early upset in this keenly contested battle.