Five reasons why West Indies will defeat Pakistan to win the 3rd ODI

West Indies bowler Sunil Narine (c) is congratulated by Kemar Roach (L) for taking 4 Pakistan wickets during the 2nd ODI at Guyana National Stadium in Georgetown on July 16, 2013.West Indies completed a 37-run victory. (Getty Images)

West Indies gathered a bit of momentum by winning the second ODI of the five-match series after they were doled out a humiliating loss in the first ODI. The third ODI to be played in St. Lucia at Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet will decide which team holds the advantage in the series.

Pakistan were not dominant in the first encounter but they managed to win the match convincingly because of the heroics of Shahid Afridi. They were exposed in the second match when West Indies were able to put a moderate total on the board, and hence the toss will once again be crucial in the third match as both teams suffer under the pressure of a target.

West Indies rely heavily upon the contribution of their opening pair constituted by Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles. They have been unable to make a match-winning impact as the team expects them to do whereas the middle-order has been short of form but showed some application in the last game. Their bowling has allowed them to be competitive in the circumstances making sure that they do not allow Pakistan to get scores in excess of 230 on slow, turning surfaces.

Pakistan suffer from similar problems as their inexperienced batting line-up continues to frustrate. Nasir Jamshed, Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi will have to play their respective roles in the batting order simultaneously to get the team out of this rut. The bowling department is sharp and aggressive but lacks discipline at times as they gave away almost 40 runs as extras in the last game, which hurt them badly.

Here is a list of five reasons why West Indies stand a better chance of taking a lead in the series with victory in the third ODI: