Afghanistan v West Indies, 3rd ODI, Lucknow – Preview, likely XIs, prediction

West Indies took an unassailable 2-0 lead to secure their first bilateral ODI series in five years. Thanks to a no-holds-barred onslaught from Nicholas Pooran and some excellent bowling by Roston Chase, West Indies won the second ODI by 47 runs. They will now be eyeing a whitewash.

The West Indian start was more solid than explosive as their openers added 98 in almost 25 overs. The score read 182/6 when Jason Holder fell in the 44th over, but Pooran demonstrated why Chris Gayle had singled him out as the finest of the lot. He took just 50 balls for his 67, propelling his team to 267/9.

In response, the Afghans simply failed to get Chase (10-0-30-3) away. Things looked hopeless at 109/5 after 27 overs before Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi sparked some hope with a 68-run stand. In the end they collapsed to 200.

Despite the margins, the Afghans have put up some strong individual performances. The series has been lost, but they will want to win the “dead-rubber” encounter. Their spinners – Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Nabi – have done well, with decent support from the seamers. All that is needed is some solid contributions from the top order.

The West Indians, on the other hand, have been clinical with bat. They have not taken unnecessary risks – something they have often been guilty of – and have not gone for the big hits unless they had to. Their bowling, buoyed by the twin arrivals of Romario Shepherd and Hayden Walsh Jr, now looks as solid as it has been in recent past.

All in all, it should be a close match. Afghanistan may just pull this one off.

Head to head

The two wins here have helped West Indies take a 4-3 lead in the head-to-head: in other words, the sides are more or less evenly matched.

Key players

Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan): Naveen is not express, but his canny changes of pace and length make him a very efficient bowler at the death. He bowled slightly short in the second match, something he will be keen on making amends to.

Roston Chase (West Indies): Chase had scored 94 during the chase in the first match, and has figures of 20-0-61-5 in the series. Definitely someone the Afghans need to be wary of in the third.

Likely XIs

Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (c), Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq.

West Indies: Shai Hope (wk), Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Hayden Walsh Jr, Sheldon Cottrell.

Prediction

Afghanistan to pull one back.