Follow UsHaving sealed the series already, Babar Azam’s Pakistan, come Sunday, will be aiming to whitewash West Indies and further strengthen their position in the Top 4 of the ODI Super League standings. The Nicholas Pooran-led Windies side made Pakistan work hard in each of the first two games, but while the visitors played well in patches, lack of consistency saw them succumb to defeat in each of the first two games of the series. Given there are no dead rubbers in this Super League format, the Windies, then, will be aiming to get 10 valuable points. And Pooran’s side will need the points, given they’ve lost 12 and won just 8 games in the ongoing ODI Super League cycle.
Ground Details
The third and final ODI of the series will also be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan. And it has to be said that in the second ODI on Friday, the wicket behaved significantly different from game number one. The first ODI oversaw a relatively flat wicket that was more or less a batting paradise. The occasional ball stopped, yes, but at no point did the bowlers have the upperhand. The Windies, batting first, scored 305 and that was chased down by Pakistan with four balls to spare.
However, bowlers dominated proceedings in the second ODI. In particular, the spinners ran the show. The wicket in the second game provided excessive turn for the slower bowlers, and on Friday, spinners across the two sides accounted for 9/173 off 39.1 overs, maintaining an economy of 4.4. The turn started getting noticeable towards the end of the first innings, and by the time Mohammad Nawaz took the ball for Pakistan in the second innings, the pitch had become a spinner’s paradise. The left-armer bowled exceptionally and ran through the Windies line-up, finishing with figures of 4/19 off his 10.
With the temperature in Multan expected to hover around the 40 degree mark for the next 24-36 hours, don’t be surprised if there’s a similar, spin-friendly wicket in the third ODI. And don’t be surprised if the captain winning the toss opts to bat first.
Suggested Team
Captaincy and vice-captaincy suggestion
Small Leagues - Babar Azam (c) , Imam-ul-Haq (vc)
Grand Leagues - Babar Azam (c) , Imam-ul-Haq (vc)
Stats that matter
* Both Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq have registered fifty-plus scores in each of their last six ODI matches. In that, Babar has managed to pass the three-figure mark a staggering four times.
* Shai Hope is talked about a lot, but Shamarh Brooks has also been a run-machine in the ODI format of late. 4 of his last 5 scores in the 50-over format read 60, 101*, 60 and 42, and he is currently the highest run-getter for the Windies in ODIs this year. After 11 games, the right-hander is averaging 47.20 in the format.
* In ODIs since 2021, Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq are averaging 148.2 as a batting pair. That’s right, each of their last seven partnerships have been 90+ run stands: 120, 103, 190, 111, 96, 92 and 177.
* Akeal Hosein (34) and Alzarri Joseph (29) are the top two highest wicket-takers in the ongoing ICC ODI Super League cycle. They are the second and third highest wicket-takers in this series, and have picked a total of 8 wickets between them (4 each).
* Since 8 Jul 2021, Fakhar Zaman has been averaging 24.12 with the bat in ODI cricket. The opener has passed 20 just once in his last 7 innings in the format.
* Like Zaman, Nicholas Pooran too has been in rotten form in the 50-over format. That too for quite a while. Across his last 12 ODI innings, Pooran has been averaging 12.50, not passing fifty even once. 50% of his knocks in this period have been single-digit scores.
Grand League punts
* For the reasons mentioned above, it is a must to have both Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq in your fantasy XI. It would be advisable to make Babar the captain over Imam due to his tendency to convert fifties into hundreds at a much better rate.
* Shaheen Shah Afridi is another must-have in the XI. The left-arm quick has taken 9 wickets in the four ODIs he has played this year, and struck early in each of the first two ODIs of the series. He’s now showing that he could fetch valuable little points with the bat too.
* Speaking of all-round ability, it would be worth taking a punt on Kyle Mayers, who in the second ODI showed a glimpse of his batting potential. He has not fired with the ball so far in this series, but the 29-year-old, many a time in the past, particularly in red-ball cricket, has shown that he has the ability to get on a roll with ball in hand.
* If you want a bowler that will fetch you points almost certainly, go for Alzarri Joseph. So far this calendar year, the speedster has played 10 ODIs. In that, he has failed to pick up a wicket only once. The 25-year-old has taken at least one wicket in each of his last 8 ODIs, and has picked 2 or more wickets in 6 of his last 7 ODIs.
Predicted XI
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Afridi
West Indies: Shai Hope (wk), Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran (c), Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Anderson Phillip, Hayden Walsh