Match: Pakistan v West Indies, 3rd T20I
Date: 27 September, Tuesday
Time: 12am SGT (Wednesday)/9:30pm IST/5pm BST
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium
TV Channel: In Singapore, the live coverage of the 3rd T20I between Pakistan and West Indies will be on Ten Cricket.
Overview
Pakistan take on West Indies in the final Twenty 20 International of the three-match series in Abu Dhabi on 27 September.
Having pocketed the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead, the hosts will look to dominate on Tuesday and maintain the winning momentum ahead of the three-match One Day International series, starting 30 September.
Pakistan have not put a foot wrong in the ongoing series. In the first T20I at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, left-arm spinner Imad Wasim decimated the West Indies batting line-up with a five-for. After being put into bat, only two of the visitors' batsmen, which included tail-ender Jerome Taylor, reached double-digit scores.
The visitors succumbed to Wasim's accuracy coupled with their own poor shot selection. Pakistan cruised to a nine-wicket win after a strong batting effort from their top order in chase of 116.
In the second T20I, Carlos Brathwaite's men, this time chasing a total of 161 let the series slip away from them. Pacers Hasan Ali and Sohail Tanvir shared six wickets between them to hurt their opposition.
Led by a young, creative captain in Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan were not flashy but did what was needed to end up on the right side.
While West Indies imploded when they were put into bat in the first T20I, the Men in Green assessed the pitch while batting first and kept wickets in the hand till the final stages of the second match. They scored 60 runs in the last six overs to box out the Caribbeans.
Sarfraz has maintained a perfect captaincy record since he took charge of the T20 unit in Manchester in the one-off T20I earlier this month. The 29-year-old was effective with the changes he made on the field and has been leading the way with the bat as well.
On the other hand, the defending World T20 champions lacked application on the slow wickets of Dubai. The absence of Chris Gayle at the top has hurt them as both the openers Johnson Charles and Elvis Lewis have been dismal. The visitors will be tested again as another slow track will be on offer in Abu Dhabi.
Both the teams have been unchanged so far and West Indies would be willing to ring in some changes for the final T20I. All-rounder Rovman Powell and pacer Kesrick Williams will likely get a place in the playing XI on Tuesday. Wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton will also be in-line for a spot.
Meanwhile, the in-form Pakistani unit will look to make amends to their poor record in Abu Dhabi with a win in the final T20I. From 2010 to 2012, the Men in Green have won only one out of their four T20Is at the Sheik Zayed Cricket Stadium. They have lost 16 of their 29 ODIs and seven since 2013 at the venue.
They will want to test their bench strength and Mohammad Amir will be raring to have one go at the West Indies before the start of the ODI series. Also, Sarfraz would be hoping to make it four in four as captain before Azhar Ali takes over in the upcoming ODI series.
TV listings
Singapore: Ten Cricket
India: Ten 3
Pakistan: PTV Sports
US: Willow TV
South Africa: SuperSport Two
Team News
Pakistan
Possible XI: Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Babar Azam, Umar Akmal, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Imad Wasim,Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Tanvir.
West Indies
Possible XI: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Evin Lewis, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Chadwick Walton (wk), Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Rovman Powell, Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine, Kesrick Williams
