Windies vs England, 3rd T20I, Preview: The Brits aim for a clean sweep after the scintillating show in the last match

Windies lost the 2nd T20I by 137 runs as they were bowled out for just 45 runs.

Published - 10 Mar 2019, 15:11 IST | Updated - 10 Mar 2019, 15:11 IST

2 Min Read

Not often one would see a side like Windies bundled out for 45 runs in T20 cricket. It is a format that the team takes a lot of pride in. They set their standards high with some of the biggest hitters in their team. But somehow, they hardly were able to give England any competition in the two games thus far.

As we head into the third and the final T20I, England will clearly aim at a clean sweep. They will look to end this tour on a high with another win under their belt. However, the self-esteem of the Windies team is at stake now. The hosts will look to compete better this time around and play with more responsibility.

Team Combinations

Windies

The Windies might bring back in Ashley Nurse and Oshane Thomas for the next game. Devendra Bishoo and Obed McCoy, who replaced the Nurse-Thomas duo in the 2nd T20I had a poor outing. It is important for the batsmen to step in crunch situations. After the brilliant ODI series, Chris Gayle still hasn’t come to terms with the shortest format of the game. He is trying to go too hard after the bowlers which isn’t helping him.

Predicted XI: Shai Hope (WK), Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Jason Holder (C), Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas.

England

England have persisted with Joe Root in the series and he returned with some good numbers in the last game. The Test skipper scored 55 runs off 40 balls and looked very fluent. The form of Eoin Morgan and Joe Denly seems to be the only concern heading into the last game. These two should take the onus upon themselves and play better cricket. Sam Billings was great with 87 off 47 and will continue in the eleven. The bowling department could be unchanged.

Predicted XI: Alex Hales, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Joe Denly, Sam Billings, David Willey, Tom Curran, Liam Plunkett, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid.

Focus will be on

Shai Hope (Windies)

Shai Hope is one of the most reliable batsmen in the Windies side. He is a very classy cricketer and doesn’t hit those big shots often. But he only managed to score 13 runs thus far in the series. The wicketkeeper-batsman should be more careful with his shot selection and provide the team with good starts.

Eoin Morgan (England)

With 256 runs at an average of 64, English skipper Eoin Morgan seemed to be in good touch in the ODI series. He was the second-highest run scorer after Chris Gayle in the 50-over format. But in the two T20Is so far, he only managed to score 8 (16) and 1 (3) leading to a huge disappointment. The left-hander will hope to perform better in the upcoming game.