Pakistan will take on the West Indies in the third of the three-match ODI series. This article provides details about Pakistan’s Playing 11 vs West Indies for the third match of the series.
Pakistan Playing 11 vs West Indies- 3rd ODI, Pakistan tour of West Indies 2025:
Openers: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub
Pakistan has looked like a more settled unit as compared to the West Indies in terms of performance because it appears like each player in the team knows their role and knows how to go about it.
The Men in Green, under new coach Mike Hesson, seemed to have identified what their strategy in ODI cricket is going to be, and they are ready to stick to it irrespective of the results.
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One of the changes that is quite evident in both white ball squads is the cautious effort to have depth in batting, which is the reason why the Mohammad Rizwan-led side went in with two fast-bowling all-rounders in the first ODI.
The decision to go in with two fast bowling all-rounders meant that the team had to let go of one specialist fast bowler, which proved to be a smart decision as Pakistan chased a score of 281 after being five down for less than 200.
Having said that, the Men in Green have adopted a rotation policy, especially in the bowling department, so it will be interesting to see what bowling lineup they go in with in the final ODI game.
The former World Cup winners are expected to retain the same batting combination for the final game of the three-match ODI series against the West Indies and open the batting with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique.
Visiting team management would want the openers to get the team off to a good start, as it has been a cause of concern for them in most of the matches in the recent past.
Both Abdullah and Saim will take the upcoming match as another opportunity to cement their place in the ODI, having played only a handful of games in this format.
Saim would want to build on the good form he showed in the T20I series against the same opposition.
Abdullah, on the other hand, would want to prove himself as a white ball player, having played red ball cricket for Pakistan.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Salman Ali Agha, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz
The openers would want the middle order batters to capitalize on the platform laid by them to put on a solid display of batting in the final outing with the bat on the tour of the West Indies.
The team will look up to former captain Babar Azam, who started the series with a decent score of 47, and current captain Mohammad Rizwan, who also scored a fifty in the same match, to once again provide stability.
This pair would look to make a strong comeback in the decider after getting out early in the previous match and would want ample support from the likes of Salman Ali Agha, Hasan Nawaz, and Hussain Talat.
The only thing that the middle order needs to be careful about is the tendency to lose wickets in clusters. If the middle order can rectify that, then it will increase the chances of putting the bowlers under pressure.
Bowlers: Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Abrar Ahmed
The visitors would want their bowlers to come good in the final game of the series and pick up early wickets for the team.
The onus will be on Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali, two of Pakistan’s most experienced bowlers in the squad.
The responsibility on the duo increases manyfold because Pakistan is expected to play only two specialist fast bowlers in the playing XI.
Shaheen and Hasan will be assisted by Hussain Talat, the fast bowling all-rounder that Pakistan has in the squad for this particular series.
As far as the spin bowling department is concerned, it will be taken care of by Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz, with Salman Ali Agha and Saim Ayub chipping in with a few overs.
Also Read: West Indies Playing 11 vs Pakistan- 3rd ODI, Pakistan tour of West Indies 2025
