West Indies take on Pakistan in the third of the four-match Twenty20 International at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain on Saturday.
Having lost the first two matches of the series, the hosts are in danger of losing their second consecutive T20I series against Pakistan after their 3-0 thrashing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year. Moreover, the fourth-ranked team have struggled consistently against the Men in Green, losing seven of their nine meetings and four on the trot.
The West Indies lost a good opportunity to level the series on Thursday even after bowling out Pakistan for only 132 on a slow track. Spinners Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree rocked the top-order early in the innings after which Brathwaite rocked the middle order. However, a 10-ball 24 from Wahab Riaz in the end proved decisive.
The poor form of West Indies' big-hitting middle order batsmen Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons and Rovman Powell is an area of concern as they head into Saturday's match. The hosts looked in good shape to gun down 133 but once again it was Shadab Khan who decimated West Indies as the teenager picked up four wickets to take his tally to seven in his maiden series.
Pakistan, on the other hand, would want better contributions from their batsmen. They are likely to replace struggling Kamran Akmal with Mohammad Hafeez, who will provide an additional spinning option along with the impressive Shadab and Imad Wasim on what will be another slow track in Port of Spain.
West Indies have the firepower in their squad to deliver the goods but Brathwaite should find a way to inspire the team. Not giving away wickets to Shadab is going to be key if they are to stand a chance of winning the match today.
TV Schedule
Pakistan: PTV Sports
India: Ten 2
UK: Sky Sports
Middle East: OSN Cricket
Australia: Fox Sports
South Africa: Supersport
US: Willow TV
Team News
West Indies
Possible XI: Brathwaite (c), Lewis, Walton (Wk), Samuels, Simmons, Pollard, Powell, Holder, Narine, Badree, Taylor
Pakistan
Possible XI: Sarfraz (c & wk), Shehzad, Akmal, Hafeez, Azam, Malik, Imad, Shadab, Tanvir, Ali, Wahab
