West Indies vs Australia  8th ODI Prediction : 

Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies-10:30 PM IST, JUN 21.

Preview :

The washout on Sunday (June 19) against South Africa has complicated the equation for Australia, who now go into their final league match in a must-win situation. A loss for Steven Smith's men against West Indies will make the final league match, between the hosts and South Africa, merely an academic affair. On the other hand, Jason Holder's men are sailing in a similar boat as well. While a loss will not technically dump them out of the tournament, they will then have to beat South Africa by a bonus point, a task which looks tough on paper.

Australia's batting was a huge let-down in their last completed game, against West Indies, in St. Kitts. They were cruising along at one stage, only to falter in the final third of their innings and set up a chase which wasn't out of bounds for the host batsmen. If the batting in the last half was inadequate, the fielding and catching left a lot to be desired, with Usman Khawaja reprieving both West Indies openers. Understandably, the Australian skipper wasn't pleased with the efforts and called upon his team to main their high standards. With the final on the line, can Australia be at their best in all the three departments of the game?

While Australia haven't looked sharp, hosts West Indies have blown hot and cold right throughout the tournament. Every win was followed by a disastrous thumping in the very next game. The two hammerings - one each, at the hands of Australia and South Africa, gave their opposition a bonus point victory, something that might well come back to haunt the men from the Caribbean Islands. They have batted well in patches - Kieron Pollard, in the win against South Africa at Guyana and Marlon Samuels, against Australia, in St. Kitts. Sunil Narine has been handy with the ball - but the team as a whole has struggled to match performance with consistency.