West Indies vs England 3rd T20I: Preview and Predictions

Do-or-die match for the hosts

After going down in the opening two T20Is, it’s do-or-die for hosts West Indies as they take on England in the crucial third T20I.

Ahead of the game, here’s our match preview and prediction.

West Indies vs England 3rd T20I | England tour of West Indies 2024 | 01:30 IST, November 15

England’s biggest USP in the T20Is has to be their explosive top order, with Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Jos Buttler all being amongst the runs. After Salt’s incredible hundred, Buttler followed it up in the second T20I with a hurricane 83 from 45 deliveries as the English captain found himself back amongst the runs after a lengthy injury lay-off. Will Jacks has been providing Salt and Buttler with good support at the top, keeping the scoreboard ticking and England have the likes of Liam Livingston, Jacob Bethell in the wings as well, waiting to explode.

The English bowling lineup was also clinical in the second game as Saqib Mahmood continued to impress with the new ball and with support from the experienced Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid, England also had their part-timers such as Liam Livingstone and Dan Mousley chip in with wickets. Overall, the English team is a well-oiled unit, with them beginning to fire on all cylinders.

The hosts, on the other hand, have been struggling with both bat and ball. The West Indian batters have been getting starts but have failed to bat through or capitalise on that and make it a big score. Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd all got starts in the second game but failed to convert it into a big score, which ended up hurting the hosts as they could manage only 158/8 in their 20 overs. With the ball, they’ve been ordinary as well, as the likes of Salt, Jacks and Buttler have been smashing them all over the park. Not only have they been leaking runs but also failed to pick up the occasional wicket to break the partnerships and have given nothing special to trouble the English batters. The hosts will also be sweating it out on the fitness of their star all-rounder Andre Russell and West Indies will be hoping that the Kolkata Knight Riders star is fit and raring to go for this crucial game.

At St. Lucia, it is a high-scoring ground, expect a lot of runs and the ball flying everywhere with the visitors poised to lock in the series at 3-0.

Fantasy XI: Phil Salt, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Liam Livingstone, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Saqib Mahmood, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie

Venue: Gros Islet

Winners Prediction: England