Australia have opted to bat in the third and final ODI against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, a match that will settle the series. A sharp shower delayed the toss by 15 minutes, but conditions soon cleared, leaving a gusty breeze rather than the oppressive heat that marked Tuesday’s fixture.
Only one change features on either side. For Australia, all-rounder Cooper Connolly replaces leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha. Pakistan, satisfied with their balance, go in unchanged. Although today’s contest is on a fresh surface, both captains still expect it to aid spin.
“It will be similar to last night and we had a good total,” Josh Inglis observed, recalling Australia’s 231 in game two, a score Pakistan never seriously threatened. Across the rope, Shaheen Shah Afridi set his bowlers a familiar target: restricting the visitors to sub-200. Pakistan managed exactly that in the Rawalpindi opener before easing to a five-wicket win.
The tactical thread is clear enough. Australia trust their top order to post something near par and then lean on Adam Zampa and Matt Kuhnemann to exploit any grip. Pakistan, meanwhile, know early incision with the new ball keeps them well inside Afridi’s benchmark total—anything higher, and they may need Babar Azam to anchor another recovery.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Babar Azam, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Abdul Samad, Shadab Khan, Arafat Minhas, Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Australia: Matt Short, Josh Inglis (capt & wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Oliver Peake, Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa.
With the breeze forecast to persist, reverse swing may arrive earlier than usual, while dew is unlikely before the close. All said, a competitive total should still revolve around that 230-240 mark—a figure that has already tilted this series once.
