Summary:
Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu will face off in the second match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier on Saturday, 22 July 2023 at Amini Park in Port Moresby. Both teams are coming off narrow defeats in their opening matches, and they will be looking to bounce back with a win.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea are the higher-ranked team in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings, and they will be the favorites to win this match. They have a strong batting line-up led by Charles Amini, who is the team’s leading run-scorer in T20I cricket. They also have a number of experienced bowlers, including Jason Kila and Nosaina Pokana.
Vanuatu
Vanuatu are the underdogs in this match, but they will be hoping to cause an upset. They have a number of talented players, including Joshua Rasu, Manoj Narayan, and Vanuatu’s captain, Assad Vala. They will need to play their best cricket if they are to get a result against Papua New Guinea.
Venue
The match will be played at Amini Park in Port Moresby. This is a batting-friendly venue, and the scores are likely to be high. The bowlers will need to be accurate if they are to restrict the scoring.
Conclusion
This is a match that could go either way. Papua New Guinea are the favorites, but Vanuatu have the potential to cause an upset. The match is sure to be an exciting one, and it is one that cricket fans will not want to miss.
Prediction
I predict that Papua New Guinea will win this match by a narrow margin. However, Vanuatu will give them a good fight, and the match could go down to the wire.
Additional Notes
This is the second time that Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu have met in a T20I match. The first time they met was in 2019, and Papua New Guinea won that match by 6 wickets.
Papua New Guinea will be without their captain, David White, for this match. White is injured and has been ruled out of the tournament.
Vanuatu will be looking to improve their batting performance in this match. They were bowled out for just 103 in their opening match against Japan.
