West Indies vs Ireland, 2020: 3rd ODI, Preview – The Caribbeans eye a clean sweep after the jolt in the last game

Batting has seemed to be a big concern for West Indies in this series against Ireland. In the first game, the middle order fell apart. And in the second game, the top order failed to show resistance against some good bowling. The lower-order batsmen had to come to the rescue and prevent a possible upset. This is indeed a wake-up call for the hosts and they’ve got to apply themselves better. The shot selection has looked a concern and should be addressed if the team is to do better.

Meanwhile, Ireland would be cursing themselves for losing the last game the way they did. After bringing the opposition down to 148/7, they should have comfortably got over the line. But they choked under pressure despite having some experienced players in their ranks. While a whitewash in on the cards for them, they will hope to compete better this time and give the opposition a good run for their money.

Team Combinations

West Indies

West Indies might ponder over giving Sunil Ambris an opportunity. He’s been around for some time now but mostly warmed the bench. However, there is no scope of fitting him in unless they decide to rest one of their batsmen or drop a bowler. The likes of Hayden Walsh, Alzarri Joseph and Sheldon Cottrell will continue in the eleven. The places of Shepherd and Khary Pierre are uncertain and that is where the hosts could tinker around.

Predicted XI: Shai Hope (wk), Evin Lewis, Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Romario Shepherd, Keemo Paul/Khary Pierre, Hayden Walsh, Alzarri Joseph, Sheldon Cottrell.

Ireland

Ireland management has got a few tough questions to answer ahead of this game. Whether they’d give an extra chance to Gareth Delany or bring back James McCollum will be interesting to see. Better performances from the middle order batsmen are expected in this game. The bowling attack will remain the same and they have been doing a decent job.

Predicted XI: Paul Stirling, Gareth Delany/James McCollum, Andrew Balbirnie (c), William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, Lorcan Tucker/Gary Wilson (wk), Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Andy McBrine, Boyd Rankin.

Focus will be on

Shimron Hetmyer (West Indies)

After playing some determined and good cricket against India, Shimron Hetmyer has thrown it away in the last couple of games. His shot selection hasn’t been precise and he seemed a bit dicey. He is one of the important players in the West Indies line-up going forward and should look to perform at a more consistent rate.

Andrew Balbirnie (Ireland)

In his maiden series as the ODI captain of Ireland, Andrew Balbirnie hasn’t had a great time. His batting performance has been disappointing as he got out for cheap scores in both the matches. The 29-year-old has got great talent with the willow in hand and has played some great knocks for his team in the past. He should take up more responsibility and try to play more sensible cricket.

Head to Head

Matches – 11:  West Indies won – 9 | Ireland won – 1 | N/R – 1

Stat Attack

6 – It has been six years since West Indies last clean-swept an opposition in an ODI series. Against Bangladesh in 2014, they won 3-0 which is also their last ODI series win before this one.

Broadcast Details

Live Streaming – Fan Code

Match timings – 09:30 AM local time (07:00 PM IST) (01:30 PM UTC)