West Indies will be looking to get back to winning ways on Friday when they take on Pakistan in the first ODI of a three match series. Having lost all three T20s and lost them by some margin the tourists will be looking to get back on track over the next week but they face an opponent they have allowed to gain plenty of confidence heading into this series.
Both sides head to Sharjah knowing that the winners will be in a very good position to go on and win the series and that should provide both with plenty of incentive to perform and get the job done.
Pakistan
We’ve seen plenty of Pakistan in coloured clothing in the last month and they seem to be getting much better with the run of matches they have had. That said they have gone back to Azhar Ali as captain now and it will be interesting to see if they can play with the same style and intensity they have had under Sarfraz.
In many ways Pakistan shouldn’t change from their style because in theory it should be well suited to these conditions but going forward something will need to change. They look to have a bit more power in their batting for this series which should complement their bowling attack nicely.
West Indies
West Indies have to improve massively on what they showed in the T20s but on the bright side for them they can’t possibly get any worse. Jason Holder will take over the captaincy for this series and he should be capable of steadying the ship but the tourists will need him to because they were wretched throughout the T20s.
West Indies showed in the tri-series with Australia and South Africa earlier in the year that they can be competitive in this format of the game but whether they can be competitive in these conditions remains to be seen. They bowled well in that tri-series and they will definitely have to do that here.
Team News
Umar Akmal is expected to come into the side from the one which played in England recently. Mohammad Amir will come in having missed the first couple of T20s but Mohammad Irfan remains sidelined as does Mohammad Hafeez.
West Indies have left Andre Fletcher out of proceedings and there is no Dwayne Bravo for this series either so Jonathan Carter could come in while Shannon Gabriel definitely will. Suliemann Benn is expected to come into the side too.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
This ground has held a whopping 224 preview ODIs with Pakistan having played in 120 of them. They have a near 2:1 winning record with 79 wins and 40 defeats with one tie. West Indies have an even record on the ground with 19 wins and 19 defeats from their 38 matches.
This isn’t a particularly high scoring ground but every now and then you get the odd high scoring game. With this ground hosting the second match on Sunday too this wicket might play better than some before it although the dry conditions will ensure the spinners are always in the game.
Betting
I’m not going against Pakistan in this match but they are plenty short enough so I’m not going to back them either so I will head for the side markets for a bet in this opening match of the three in the series.
I don’t think we are breaking any confidences to point out that these two sides go about their business in different ways in this format of the game. Pakistan are a bit slow and steady to begin with looking to set a platform for their bigger hitters down the order to get them up to a decent score whereas the West Indies just swing from the hip right from the beginning.
With that in mind I think the even money on West Indies to make the highest score after 15 overs is the way to go in this one. I’m expecting West Indies to have much more intent about them in this series and they might not need to face spin so early which will be a bonus but even if they do Pakistan aren’t going to race away from them. There is plenty of value in that even money.
Tips
Back West Indies Highest 1st 15 Overs for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Bwin
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