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Pakistan seek another whitewash to ease WC qualification passage
- Updated: October 4, 2016
Match facts
October 5, 2016 Start time 1500 local (11:00 GMT)
Big picture
It has been more than two weeks since West Indies landed in the UAE, and are yet to win a game against Pakistan. West Indies, World T20 champions six months back, are now on the brink of their second successive whitewash of the tour.
West Indies’ batsmen have looked out of place, despite showing some resistance in the second ODI. Fifties by Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels sparked a comeback but the West Indies bowlers lacked penetration and had conceded far too many earlier in the day. Phil Simmons’ sacking just before their UAE tour didn’t bode well for the team either but with a gruelling Test series on the horizon, West Indies need to pick themselves quickly.
Since their 4-1 rout against England last month, Pakistan have raised the bar, winning six consecutive matches: all of them one-sided. Their progress has been built on consistent performances from the top order, apart from captain Azhar Ali. The biggest upshot for Pakistan is their improvement in the ODI rankings as they strive to gain automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup.
Form guide
Pakistan WWWLL (completed matches, most recent first)West Indies LLLWL
In the spotlight
Azhar Ali’s role as Pakistan’s ODI captain has repeatedly been questioned of late. His batting, …
