NEP vs WI third T20I preview | Nepal aim clean sweep while West Indies play for pride

‌It will be a watershed moment for the Nepal cricket team when they take the field against the West Indies for the third T20I at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. The Asian side, who already created history by taking an unassailable lead in the three-match series, will have momentum and motivation behind them to end the series with a clean slate.

Meanwhile, the West Indies will have nothing to lose but pride as they go in search of their first win in the duel. Though a second-string side under Akeal Hosein, the Caribbean unit will expect its players to come up with an improved performance to avoid the ignominy of a whitewash.

Nepal continued their fine performance in the first game with yet another clinical show, beating their fancied rivals by a huge margin of 90 runs in the second. Sundeep Jora and Aasif Sheikh scored quickfire half-centuries to power the side to a formidable total, which the Windies failed to surpass. The duo are also the top run-getters in the series, with 72 and 71 runs, respectively.

With the ball, leg-spinner Kushal Bhurtel and medium pacer Mohammad Aadil Alam have been impressive, picking up five and four wickets so far. Meanwhile, Jason Holder and Akeal Hosein have been decent with the ball, picking up seven wickets between them, and will hope for their batting unit to deliver the goods to avoid another embarrassing defeat.

Form Guide

NEP Form: WWLWW

WI Form: LWLLL

NEP vs WI head-to-head in T20Is

It was the first meeting between both sides when they met in the initial game of the current three-match series. As a result, Nepal holds a 2-0 advantage, with the Windies yet to win a game.

NEP 2 - 0 WI

Pitch and Conditions

The surface at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium is expected to be flat and will aid the batters in a high-scoring contest. With Nepal winning both the matches after putting runs on the board, both captains will have no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss.

A warm and cloudy Sharjah evening will welcome both sides for the final game, with temperatures expected to be around 32 degrees. However, it will get cooler as the game progresses, with temperatures dropping to 27 degrees and no rain forecasted.

Team News

Nepal are expected to play with the same side while the West Indies may include Karima Gore and Obed McCoy in place of Zishan Motara and Jediah Blades.

NEP Expected XI

Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Sundeep Jora, Gulsan Jha, Mohammad Aadil Alam, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi

WI Expected XI

Jewel Andrew, Kyle Mayers, Keacy Carty, Ackeem Auguste, Amir Jangoo (wk), JAson Holder, Fabian Allen, Akeal Hosein (c), Navin Bidaisee, Karima Gore, Obed McCoy

Broadcasting Platforms 

The NEP vs WI third T20I match will be digitally streamed on the FanCode app and website in India from 8:00 PM IST on Tuesday, with no live telecast of the same.