Published: Sep 23, 2016, 06:51 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 23, 2016, 06:51 PM (IST)
Pakistan begins their three-match T20I series against West Indies at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. The live telecast of the match will be available on Ten 1 HD and Ten 3 and also you can catch the live streaming on TenSports.com. There’s a lot riding on this T20I series for Pakistan as they are placed at No.7 in the ICC T20 rankings while their opponents are at the top of the table. Pakistan will surely look to turn their fortunes with the white ball as nothing has gone their way in the limited format of the game.
Pakistan had a bad series against England as they were defeated 1-4 by Eoin Morgan lead England side which surely would have destroyed their confidence after a splendid display in the Test series. Pakistan had a stellar run in the Test series which led them to rise to No.1 spot in the Test rankings, however, the game has been completely opposite in the limited overs format. Sarfraz Ahmed has a lot riding on him as a Pakistan have a big task in front of them to defeat the T20I champions and make a mark in the limited overs cricket. On the other hand, West Indies have been at their best when it comes to the shortest format of the game. West Indies had a forgetful Test series against India in their own land, but the way they played in the T20 series against India in the USA, Florida was worth every penny. They went on to win the series by 1-0 after the second match of the series was abandoned due to rainfall. READ: Pakistan vs West Indies, 1st T20I: Sarfraz Ahmed vs Sunil Narine and other key battles
West Indies won the first match by a single run as they had put a huge target of 246 in the first T20I thanks to monstrous hitting from Evin Lewis who scored a century. West Indies would be happy with the way their batting has been in the past series, but they will need to work a lot on their bowling department as all of them were bashed by the Indian batsmen.
Nothing can be predicted off which team has an upper hand in today’s match. Both teams have the necessary arsenal in their squad but only one of them has been able to utilise it as off now. Both teams have a young squad which makes it more of an even contest, but Pakistan may have a little edge over their competitors as they are more familiar with this ground which also serves as the home ground in this series.
West Indies, on the other hand, will be missing the services of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell. Gayle sustained a groin strain during the two-match T20I series against India, while Russell withdrew from the tour due to personal reasons. Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine will have to hold the responsibility of the visitors bowling department. On the other hand, Pakistan will get the services of Umar Akmal who was dropped due to disciplinary reasons for the England tour and Imad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz will be the key to the Pakistan’s bowling attack.
