Afghanistan vs West Indies Preview: Will this be Chris Gayles final ODI

West Indies will be hoping to claim another win in their final game.

"Did I entertain you?," were the famous first words of Brian Lara, the retired international cricketer, after West Indies bowed out of the 2007 World Cup in Barbados. If Jason Holder's side were to ask the same question tomorrow, at the end of another campaign, they'd likely receive a good degree of response in the affirmative. But merely entertaining never compares to winning.

A little over a month ago, when they'd bulldozed Pakistan and then ran Australia close, there was a genuine injection of optimism around the team's chances in the tournament. But that progressively fizzled with each near miss, leaving that win at Trent Bridge on May 31 as the side's only victory so far.

Meanwhile, their last opponents, Afghanistan, are still waiting to break their duck, having taken a few trips down the oh-so-close route themselves. Gulbadin Naib still feels rotten about starting in UK's South West in the early summer, where his batting was blown away on green tops and his spinners were rendered ineffective. Because when conditions tempered, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan nearly setup wins over India, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively, underscoring their team's steadily growing status in the modern game.

Quite what West Indies make of this maverick Afghanistan team is anyone's guess. But what Holder would give to have a Nabi or a Rashid Khan sustaining the heat generated by the fast bowlers through the middle overs. Afghanistan themselves would take these quicks in their XI without as much as batting an eyelid. They could also do with a Nicholas Pooran or a Shimron Hetmyer to add some oomph to a sedate line-up. These are, of course, fantasy permutations, but they do serve to highlight a common thread: Both sides, talented as they maybe, are still some way off from transitioning their successful T20 methodologies to an extended 50-over format.

They'll have another four-year cycle via the new ICC ODI league, starting next year, to crack the code, provided they can find consistency, both on and off the field. Before they get to that though, they'll want to close out - ironically neither team's strength - this World Cup with a win. On current form, West Indies may be slight favourites, but Afghanistan know how to nullify their batting fire with spin, having done so twice in the World Cup Qualifiers last year. One last time at this World Cup then, for these two chaotic entertainers.

WATCH OUT FOR - Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle pulls on to the boundary.

Big hitting Jamaican Chris Gayle has failed to go bang so far in this World Cup, and despite his retirement back flip, this is likely to be the last time we see Gayle on the world stage. Against the lowly ranked Afghanistan who pack no real punches with their bowling, Gayle may get going and keep going.

PREDICTION The end of the road for these two sides. Afghanistan were never really a chance of contesting, but the West Indies gave us so much hope, yet failed to deliver. As much as I'd love to see Afghanistan win a game in this World Cup, it will be the Windies who get the job done, and convincingly.

West Indies to win by 60-80 runs / 5-6 wickets.

STATISTICS

HEAD TO HEAD ODI Matches: 5 Afghanistan: 3

West Indies: 1

N/R: 1

HEAD TO HEAD IN WORLD CUPS Matches: 0

Afghanistan: 0

West Indies: 0

WORLD CUP RECORDS

Afghanistan

Matches: 13

Won: 1

Lost: 12

Best Result - Group Stage (2015)

West Indies

Matches: 77

Won: 42

Lost: 34

Best Result- Winners (1975, 1979)

ODI Record since World Cup 2015:

Afghanistan

Matches: 70

Won: 34

Lost: 32

West Indies

Matches: 73

Won: 20

Lost: 48