Pakistan have so much to lose in the 3rd ODI but not so much to win,
prior to this tour Pakistan were expected to make short work of Zimbabwe
but now the home side are a chance to take out the ODI series which
would be very embarrassing for the visitors. Mohammad Hafeez is back to
scoring runs for Pakistan after a dry period for some time but his
impact on a game was evident in the 2nd ODI. With Zimbabwe’s strike
bowler Kyle Jarvis quitting International cricket, they need to be able to find a reliable source to take wickets and that could be Brian Vitori.
Zimbabwe main concern is their bowling attack which lacked the discipline as shown in the both matches as they failed to take wickets at regular intervals. Zimbabwe were very economical in the first 20 overs, after which their bowling deteriorated as the Pakistani batsmen piled up runs in the middle and death overs. Host team should stick to the plan, start off well and concentrate on bowling
economically in the death overs, they have a good chance of proving
themselves in the series decider. Taylor has indicated that the team
might make a couple of changes in the hope of getting their combination
right for this crucial match. Zimbabwe would believe that if they are to
cause an upset before the Test matches, it has to come through their batting. The top order has been in decent form and the middle order has been contributing valuable runs.
Pakistan possess a solid batting unit and if they get a chance to bat first they will make sure they put up a competitive total on board.
Pakistan, though, would hope their openers come good and play
meaningful innings. There is the calming presence of Misbah-ul-Haq and
Hafeez in the middle order, but the rest of the batsmen haven’t shown
consistency or leadership in building an innings. Bowling-wise the
visitors were fantastic addressing the problems of the previous match.
Pakistan will undoubtedly stick to their winning combination and avoid
further embarrassment by clinching the series. With one win under their
belts already, the hosts are obvious value in this final match but
Pakistan have shown a marked improvement since that loss and are likely
to seal the series on Saturday with another victory.
Match Timings: Aug 31, 2013 (09:30 local | 07:30 GMT | 13:00 IST)
TeamsPakistan (probable) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Umar Amin, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Abdur Rehman, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Mohammad Irfan.
Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 4 Timycen Maruma/Sikandar Raza , 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Tendai Chatara, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Brian Vitori, 11 Tinashe Panyangara.