Australia and West Indies meet in the decider game of the ODI series tonight. The match is rescheduled after seeing some covid scars in West Indies' supporting staff.
Match Timings: July 27, 12 AM IST
Team Preview
Australia and West Indies will meet for the final time in the ODI series. The match has been rescheduled again and West Indies managed to win the second game to take this series into a decider. Aussies proved once again why they are a top side in ODI format. Alex Carey’s troops failed to deliver with the bat and it was another poor batting show. It was the lower-order batsmen who stood up and added some vital runs in the end to reach 187. It was a similar flop show from top-order like we saw in the first ODI but this time, West Indies didn’t allow the middle-order to get settle. Australian bowlers put another classic show of pace and put the hosts in big trouble before Pooran-Holder's stand. They were 7 down on just 96 and the last 3 wickets added 91 runs for Australia.
West Indies also need to focus on their issues. They won the second game but they made things very poor while chasing. They lost their 5 wickets on 72 and then a 93-run partnership for the 6th wicket opened the door for West Indies. Both Holder and Pooran scored half-centuries. Both sides will look to win the series ad bag vital 10 points for CWC Super League.
Australia had good numbers with winning two consecutive series in Super League, and if they win tonight, it will be their third series win in Super League. They previously beat England and India 2-1 in 2020. Since the covid outbreak, they lost only three ODIs which shows their dominance. Starc and Hazlewood’s role will be key for Australia when their batting is not clicking. They put a fine pace show in two ODIs and the surface is giving them full support.
Michell Starc has picked up 8 wickets in the series and he will be a big threat. Pollard now has the big responsibility to win an ODI series against Australia which will surely lift the morale of the hosts ahead of the Pakistan series. West Indies played two ODI series this year. They were beaten by Bangladesh 3-0 but later, they whitewashed Sri Lanka at home. It’s an important series for the hosts and 10 points will boost their points table game.
Pitch Report
Barbados’s surface is good for batting but it will test the batsmen due to its sluggish behavior. We might expect another low-scoring game. Chasing would be a tough call so batting first is an ideal option after winning the toss.
Squads
West Indies
Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Darren Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Hayden Walsh, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell
Australia
Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Alex Carey (c & wk), Ashton Turner, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Riley Meredith/Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Wes Agar
Key Players
Australia
Alex Carey
A gritty 50 in the opening game and having a top form
Mitchell Starc
8 wickets in the series including a fifer and providing a big role in Australia’s bowling
West Indies
Shai Hope
In-form player in ODI format and has a consistency
Jason Holder
All round package for this format, scored 50 in last game
