It will be the end of an era for Pakistan cricket this week as Younis Khan and MIsbah-ul-Haq play their final Test matches in the third and final Test match against the West Indies in Dominica beginning on Wednesday.
When the series was announced and set up it would have been expected that Pakistan would have had the series wrapped up by now but a collapse on the final day in Barbados ensures that isn’t the case. Indeed the series is locked at 1-1 heading into what looks like a fascinating decider.
West Indies
This series has had more ups and downs than an elite trampoline performer and the West Indies have really epitomised that. In the first match they got themselves into a decent position in the match only to lose their way and tamely surrender but in the second game they recovered from a losing position to win with plenty to spare.
The West Indies bowling has been of real quality in this series so far but at times their batting has not lived up to that. One area where their batting has served them well is lower down the order where their depth has come into play. If they can just find a functioning top order this side could go places.
Pakistan
The tourists will be devastated with events in Barbados and will be out to make amends for them here. Over the course of the first four days at the Kensington Oval they were in control of the Test match but a horror show with the bat on the final day exposed a major weakness and means they still need a win to take the series.
Just like the West Indies, Pakistan have delivered good quality with the ball and the bowlers have been marshalled expertly by the retiring Misbah. They have let themselves down with the bat in both second innings in the series though and that is something that simply can’t continue going forward.
Team News
West Indies named an unchanged squad for this match and given how well they won the previous game it would be a surprise if they make any changes to their starting XI.
Pakistan went in with two spinners in the last Test but that plan never really worked. They may well revert back to the extra seamer in which case Wahab Riaz could be recalled to the team.
Windsor Park
There have only been four previous Test matches in Dominica with the West Indies winning one of them and drawing another while losing twice to Australia. This is the first time Pakistan will have played red ball cricket on this ground.
Scores here have been in the medium range so far but as with all Caribbean wickets these days we can expect this one to be a bit slow. Rain is forecast for four days of this match which might slow everything down even further.
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Betting
I have to say I’m looking forward to this decider so I hope the rain stays away. This match is beautifully poised and you just know at some point someone is going to be under pressure in the fourth innings and it will be fascinating to see who it is and how they will cope.
One thing we’ve seen so far is that regardless of the size of a chase, Pakistan have issues chasing totals. We’ve not seen the West Indies chasing anything so far so we would be guessing how they will fare but from what we’ve seen of Pakistan in the series to date West Indies draw no bet looks a fair punt. Their batting depth can make bad scores into ones they can work with and the mental baggage Pakistan bring with them from Barbados makes this match much closer than the odds suggest.
Yasir Shah covered his performance line with ease in the last match and I’m going to take him again in this match because quite simply the West Indies have shown no signs of being able to play him and with the seamers as they are he’s always going to have rough to aim into. We saw in the last game that he can offer something with the bat too and he has catches in his locker so although the line has gone up to 135.5 I still don’t think it is high enough especially when you appreciate he has totals of 168 and 224 in the series to date.
Tips
Back West Indies to beat Pakistan (DNB) for a 2/10 stake at 4.33 with Betfred
Back them here:
WON – Back Y.Shah’s Performance – Over 135.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
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