West Indies captain Shai Hope won the toss for the second consecutive time in the third and final ODI against Bangladesh today, opting to bowl first at Warner Park. 

The match is significant as Bangladesh has already lost the series, having suffered defeats in the first two games. This marks Bangladesh's first ODI series loss to the West Indies since 2014. However, Bangladesh is still playing for pride, aiming for a consolation victory to avoid a whitewash. The last time they lost a series to the West Indies in 2014, they were defeated in all three matches.

Bangladesh made three changes to their lineup. Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, and Nasum Ahmed were brought into the squad, replacing Tanzim Hasan, Shoriful Islam, and Nahid Rana. Stand-in captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz expressed his team's focus on improving their batting performance.

“We played on the same wicket in the last two games and we will look forward to getting runs,” said Miraz. “It was a tough time for me as a captain, but a lot of learnings and the boys are supporting me all the time.”

On the other side, West Indies made three changes as they aim to complete a clean sweep. Alzarri Joseph returned to the team after missing the previous match, and the West Indies handed ODI debuts to Amir Jangoo and Jediah Blades.

“We got a few forced changes. Alzarri Joseph is back, and we have two debutants today. Always looking to improve, and as a bowling group, glad to see the guys contributing,” said Shai Hope, the West Indies captain.

The two teams are now set to battle it out in what promises to be an exciting final encounter of the series.

Playing XIs:

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das (w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud.

West Indies: Brandon King, Amir Jangoo, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (w/c), Alick Athanaze, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jediah Blades.

BDST: 2051 HRS, DEC 12, 2024
MN