West Indies vs Australia 5th T20I Predictions, Picks & Odds

• West Indies won the first three T20Is before Australia held their nerve to win the fourth.
• Australia have struggled with their batting, especially their middle-order.
• West Indies’ power hitters could make the difference between the teams as it has in in the earlier games of this series.

West Indies vs Australia Odds

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West Indies vs Australia Prediction and Pick

Predicted XI

West Indies: Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, Andre Fletcher, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Andre Russell, Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Akeal Hosein/Kevin Sinclair, Hayden Walsh, Sheldon Cottrell

Australia: Matthew Wade (wk), Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner, Daniel Christian, Mitchell Starc/Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Riley Meredith/Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff

How to Watch West Indies vs Australia

Can Australia Build on Mitchell Starc’s Final Over Heist and Finish the T20I Series on a High?

Mitchell Starc produced an excellent final over in the fourth T20I where he managed to defend 11 runs against Andre Russell. Australia’s fortunes swung throughout that game and they got out of jail with Starc’s brilliant final over.

The Aaron Finch-led side have been far from convincing. Their batting has struggled big time. Barring Mitchell Marsh and Finch himself to an extent, none of them have stepped up. The middle-order just hasn’t turned up. In each of the four T20Is, the start has been pretty good but the middle-order has failed to capitalize every single time.

In the fourth game, Australia were 126/2 in the 12th over when Finch was dismissed and yet, in the last 8.3 overs, they could muster only 63 runs. The bowling has blown hot and cold as well. There is quite a bit of work to do for the Aussies with the T20 World Cup approaching this year. Their middle-order mess needs to be sorted out while the bowling can get a lot more consistent.

On the other hand, West Indies may have lost the fourth T20I but they won’t be too fussed about it. The middle overs slowdown might be an area of concern but they have been quite good overall and are close to nailing down their ideal T20I line-up ahead of the upcoming T20 World.

The batting looks powerful while the bowling has fared decently too. The inclusion of Kieron Pollard will only bolster the line-up whenever the regular skipper recovers from his injury. West Indies will be confident despite the loss in the fourth game.

Team News

West Indies have decided to rest Obed McCoy and Shimron Hetmyer for the last two T20Is as they were carrying niggles. Akeal Hosain and Evin Lewis replaced the two players in the fourth T20I. Kieron Pollard also hasn’t been fully fit and is struggling with a niggle. He might miss the final T20I as well. Dwayne Bravo could come back into the side for Oshane Thomas who struggled in the last game. On the other hand, Mitchell Starc could be rested for the final game and Josh Hazlewood who was rested in the fourth T20I might replace him. Riley Meredith could also make way for Andrew Tye.

Key Players

Evin Lewis: Evin Lewis has been batting really well this year. In the ODI series against Sri Lanka, the left-handed opener amassed 181 runs which included one hundred and a fifty. In the last seven T20Is, he has gone past 20 five times and has aggregated 209 runs at a strike rate of 164.56. He didn’t play a couple of games in this ongoing series, but he looked in scintillating touch in the fourth T20I. Lewis smacked a 14-ball 31 (four fours and two sixes) to set the tone in their run-chase of 190. He will be the one to watch out for in this game.

Mitchell Marsh: Mitchell Marsh has been the best player for Australia and has barely put a foot wrong in this series. Be it with the bat or the ball, the seam-bowling all-rounder has delivered in almost every game. In his new role at No. 3, he has smashed three half-centuries in four games and has amassed 189 runs at a strike rate of 146.51 in this series. Besides this, he has been in top form with the ball as well. The Western Australian all-rounder has returned with six wickets at an economy rate of 6.90. There is no doubt that Marsh will once again be the key.