With the series tied at one game apiece, the West Indian side will take on Zimbabwe in the third ODI of the series at Providence in Kingstown in St. Vincent. The series is currently tied at 1-1.

The hosts were rather stunned by the Zimbabwean spinning assault in the first couple of games on tour including a T20I, but came back into the series with a narrow win in the second ODI. Despite going into the game as favourites, the West Indian side (1/4 at Bet Fred to make it 2-1) will understand that they have a task on their hands, trying unravel the Zimbabwean spinners. Blue Square offers 7/2 for Zimbabwe to stun the West Indies again and go up 2-1 in the series.

West Indies made a couple of pertinent announcements as Dwayne Smith was axed from the side, while Dwayne Bravo (8/1 at Sky Bet to top-score for West Indies) finally made a return to the squad after an injury had kept him out of the Aussie tour. The other batsman included in the squad, and could get a chance immediately in the playing eleven will be his brother, Darren Bravo. But the onus of getting the big score will rest on the shoulders of the top-order consisting of Chris Gayle (5/2 at Stan James to top-score for his side) and Shivnaraine Chanderpaul (4/1 at Totesport to be West Indies’ best batsman)

Stan James offers 8/1 for Narsingh Deonaraine to top-score for the West Indian side, and after having guided his side to a win in the previous game, he will be a batsman worth putting one’s money on.

Zimbabwe’s batting fell away in the second ODI, and that was one of the reasons behind their loss. The Kingstown pitches will, hopefully, be a tad for batting-friendly than the ones at Providence, and that will mean that one can expect a reasonably big score from one of the top-order batsmen. Tatenda Taibu (4/1 at Blue Square) may be a favourite to top-score for Zimbabwe, but to my mind, Hamilton Masakadza (9/2 at Sky Bet to be the best batsman for Zimbabwe) is due for a big one. He has had some failures going into this series after a run of form that had seen him amass the runs at the top of the orde.

As far as the match result is concerned, the return of the key players of West Indies will put them as firm favourites to make it 2-1.

Tips:
Favourites: West Indies (1/4 at Bet Fred)
Top West Indian batsman: Chris Gayle (5/2 at Stan James)
Top Zimbabwean batsman: Hamilton Masakadza (9/2 at Sky Bet)