PERTH: Pakistan on Sunday put the Australian side on the back foot after pacers ran through the hosts’ batting lineup in the third ODI at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
Captain Mohammad Rizwan’s decision to field first after winning the toss in the series decider, which is currently levelled at 1-1, paid off with Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf trapping the Australian batters.
Rauf and Naseem have so far bagged two wickets each with Shaheen dismissing one batter to send half of the hosts’ batting lineup back to the pavilion.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Hasnain has also picked one wicket so far.
The three-match series is currently tied after the national side made a stunning comeback to defeat the hosts during a one-sided contest of the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval following their defeat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The two sides have come face to face 110 times in ODIs with the six-time World Cup winners boasting a dominant record with 71 victories, compared to the Men in Green’s 35.
Australia have an equally impressive record at home in ODIs as they won 38 out of 58 fixtures, while Pakistan has secured 18 victories.
The Rizwan-led side is eyeing a historical ODI series win on Australian soil, which if they succeed, would come after 22 years.
The Kangaroos — being led by Josh Inglis — have made five changes in their playing XI with the inclusion of Lance Morris, Cooper Connolly, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott and Spencer Johnson.
The changes come as Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith have all been rested ahead of Australia’s Test series against India beginning later this month.
Pakistan on the other hand remain unchanged and have gone with the same lineup as one in the second ODI.
Lineups
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.
Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis (capt, wk), Cooper Connolly, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Lance Morris.
