Ireland Tri-Nation Series 2019: Final, Bangladesh vs Windies, Preview - Tigers keen to continue their dominance; Caribbeans desperate to end the ODI series drought

No team wants to lose here as momentum is something no one would want to compromise on.

Published - 17 May 2019, 11:02 IST | Updated - 17 May 2019, 11:02 IST

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It all comes down to this between Windies and Bangladesh, who will be battling for the Tri-series trophy on Friday having thrown the hosts out of the equation. It has been a memorable outing for the Tigers, who gained an awful lot of confidence just at the right time. Their dominance in this series is something to take note for all the other teams.

Windies have been Windies in this series, loads of promise on one side, yet too many lacklustre spells. They found it very difficult to be on the same level with Bangladesh in the first two games and they will have to punch above their weight to get a win here.

No team wants to lose here as momentum is something no one would want to compromise on. It all comes down to this for these teams who will be finding much tough competition when the real test begins in a fortnight from today. Both sides can help their confidence levels big times with this game and hence, it does render some relevance.

Playing Combinations

Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan’s injury concern forced the management to draw him away after scoring a fifty and Mohammad Mithun is expected to replace him. Mahmudullah was the only batsmen without a major knock this Tri-series in their top five and the way he finished the previous game against Ireland must’ve given him some confidence. Rubel Hossain is another name who might appear in the XI to replace Mustafizur.

Predicted XI: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan/Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin, Abu Jayed, Mustafizur Rahman/Rubel Hossain

Windies

Sunil Ambris will keep his spot and continue opening with Hope. They need some runs from the middle order trio of Carter, Chase and Allen, who haven’t been up to the mark yet. A lot depends on how Sheldon Cottrell and Kemar Roach will fare for the hosts, who go into this encounter with seven brilliant bowling options. Yet, do they have the strength to withstand the Tigers right now is a tough question to answer.

Predicted XI: Shai Hope (WK), Sunil Ambris, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Jonathan Carter, Jason Holder (C), Fabian Allen, Ashley Nurse, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell

Focus will be on

Mahmudullah (Bangladesh)

No Bangladeshi fan will ever forget what Mahmudullah pulled off in the previous World Cup, which helped them reach the quarter-finals. He has been one of those players who always steps up when the occasion is big and maybe he thrives and craves for such opportunities to showcase what he has. The coming two months are going to be crucial for him and he got a decent start against Ireland in the previous game.

Darren Bravo (Windies)

To say Darren Bravo is under-performing would be an understatement. The stylish left-handed batsman is struggling to find the rhythm as it stands and his poor run could potentially cost him a place in the XI when the World Cup starts. He needs a big knock very desperately and perhaps a good innings in the final can always undo the bad work done in the previous games.