Saifuddin and Mithun in as Tigers bowl
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has won the toss and chosen to bowl first in the third and series-deciding ODI against West Indies at the Sylhet International Stadium. The picturesque stadium in Sylhet is hosting its first ODI.
The dew in Sylhet is expected to be a crucial factor, so there is a definite advantage for the team bowling first. Bangladesh have brought two changes to the team that lost the second ODI by four wickets. Imrul Kayes, who scored a Bangladesh-record 349 runs in the three-ODI series against Zimbabwe in October but looked all at sea against the high pace of Oshane Thomas in the first two ODIs, makes way for Mohammad Mithun, who is likely to slot in at number five or six while Soumya Sarkar moves up to fill the number three spot vacated by Imrul.
A second change is that of fast bowler Rubel Hossain making way for pace-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin. Part of Bangladesh's problem in the second match was that they could not maximise the slog overs after a flurry of wickets and, although Rubel was bowling well, Saifuddin's all-round credentials was seen as more important to the team combination.
West Indies have come out with a surprise, dropping their highest wicket-taker in fast bowler Oshane Thomas for all-rounder Fabian Allen. Thomas has taken four wickets in the first two ODIs and his pace was expected to be a major weapon in West Indies' arsenal.
Bangladesh's beloved captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza will be leading the team out for the 70th time, eclipsing Habibul Bashar's record for most ODIs captained by a Bangladeshi. The record-equalling match was not a happy one for Mashrafe as the Tigers let the tourists back in the series by falling to a four-wicket loss in the second ODI in Mirpur on Tuesday. The captain and his team will be fighting to correct that and see a happy ending to what has been a good year in ODIs.
West Indies, on the other hand, will be desperate to correct an embarrassing recent record of not winning a single ODI series since beating Bangladesh in the Caribbean in August 2014. There away record is even worse with their last series win coming in October 2011, also against Bangladesh.
Teams
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (C), Mustafizur Rahman
West Indies: Rovman Powell (C), Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach
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