 Bangladesh will play West Indies in the third and the final ODI on Friday at Basseterre
in St Kitts. And after having already won the series 2-0, the Bangladeshis will
be fighting hard to make a clean sweep, following the 2-0 win in the test matches
as well. West Indies, on the other hand, will look at avoiding a rout,
and will have a lot to play for.
Click for Live Score Card of West Indies vs Bangladesh
Shakib-al-Hasan has done a remarkable job in captaining the side so far, and
the best part has been the fact that his all-round skills with the bat and the
ball haven't diminished one bit. He has already been declared the man-of-the-match
in the second game, had scored a half century in the first, after having being
the man-of-the-series in the second test match along with being the man-of-the-series
as well! In short, Shakib has been in the form of his life!
Amongst others, Mohammad Ashraful has already smashed a couple of fifties
and would be in running for a three in a row effort. Usually inconsistent with
his batting - as his ODI average of 23 exhibits - he has tamed himself down
well and looks every bit the senior statesman, as a former captain would. The
bowling lies safe in the hands of the spinning quartet of Abdur Razzaq,
Shakib, Mahmudullah and Naeem Islam and that should test the West
Indian batsman.
West Indies, on the other hand, will be clutching at straws. They would be
happy with the way their batting came about in the second game, especially the
century by Travis Dowlin, who had had a nice inning or so in the tests as well.
Same could be said about the likes of Dave Bernard and Devon Smith,
but it is the captain Floyd Reifer who needs to come good with his batting.
The bowling struggled a bit in the second game. There were 15 wides out of
the 27 extras conceded and there weren't too many occasions through the game
when they looked like being in control of the proceedings. Kemar Roach
had a five-wicket haul in the first game, but 18 runs in a crucial over in the
second game put paid to the West Indian hopes. Rawl Lewis would hope for some
more purchase out of the track, much like his Bangladeshi counterparts, but
for now, he is at best, a steady bowler without much turn. In the end, it could
boil down to the more experienced of the bowling line-up, Darren Sammy
and Dave Bernard to deliver the goods with the ball.
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