Pakistan vs. Australia, 3rd ODI: Date, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Pakistan host Australia in the third and final one-day international at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with the series having already been won by the tourists following their five-wicket victory in the second match in Dubai.

However, with time and fixtures now running out before the International Cricket Council World Cup gets underway in Australia and New Zealand next February, there is no doubt that both countries will be taking this encounter seriously.

What: Pakistan vs. Australia

Where: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

When: Sunday, October 12, 11 a.m. GMT, 3 p.m. local time

Live Stream/TV info: Zee Cinema (UK), Fox Sports (Australia)

Squads

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq, Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Irfan, Raza Hasan, Sami Aslam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz and Zulfiqar Babar

Australia: GJ Bailey, SA Abbott, XJ Doherty, JP Faulkner, AJ Finch, BJ Haddin, PJ Hughes, MG Johnson, NM Lyon, GJ Maxwell, KW Richardson, SPD Smith, MA Starc and DA Warner

Form

Pakistan (last five matches, starting with the most recent: LLLLW)

Pakistan lost their most recent series in Sri Lanka in the summer, although prior to that setback they did manage to make it all the way to the final of the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, losing to Angelo Mathews’ men by five wickets.

As a result, Pakistan are currently ranked way down in joint-sixth place in the ICC’s one-day rankings.

Australia (last five matches, starting with the most recent: WWLWL)

Australia started the year by comprehensively beating England 4-1 at home in January, although it was a further seven months before they were back in 50-over action in a triangular series in Zimbabwe.

And while George Bailey and Co. did manage to recover from a shock defeat to the host nation during the round-robin phase of the tournament, they were well beaten by South Africa in the final.

However, Friday's series-clinching win over Pakistan in Dubai means the tourists now share the lead in the global ODI ratings alongside the Proteas.

Key men

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi

In the enforced absence of spin twins Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi’s role with both bat and ball—the 34-year-old is rated the seventh-best all-rounder in the world at present by the ICC—has become even more important to his team.

"

6 - Shahid Afridi has passed B. Lee to become the joint-6th highest ODI wicket-taker with G. McGrath (381). Boom. pic.twitter.com/WbR927UUsQ

— OptaJim (@OptaJim) October 7, 2014"

However, the inspirational leg-spinner responded to the extra pressure on his shoulders by returning Pakistan’s best figures of 3-46 from his allotted 10 overs in the first ODI in Sharjah on Tuesday (see above video), including the key wickets of David Warner and century-maker Steven Smith.

And while “Boom” may have failed with the bat in each of the first two games, it would be no surprise at all if the big-hitting right-hander plays a match-turning innings in Abu Dhabi.

Australia: Mitchell Johnson

As one would expect from the seventh-best bowler in the world in this short form of the game, left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson has proved quite a handful for opposition batsmen in this series to date, with his threat sure to continue in the final match on Sunday.

The Queenslander—who also smashed a breezy 21 off only 16 balls in the opening contest to help propel Australia’s total above the 250-mark—removed two of Pakistan’s top-three batsmen cheaply in Sharjah on his way to eye-catching figures of 3-24 from seven overs on Tuesday.

And the 32-year-old was at it again in the second ODI in Dubai, claiming the vital scalps of danger men Umar Akmal and Afridi during an equally impressive 10-over spell of 3-40.

Other information

Weather: According to the BBC, it is expected to be hot for this day-night affair in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, with bright sunshine and temperatures ranging between 27 and 35 degrees Celsius.

Pitch: The last ODI to be played on this ground was in December last year, when Sri Lanka successfully chased down Pakistan's 233 to win with just two wickets and two balls remaining in a match that saw the fast bowlers dominate, taking 13 of the 18 wickets to fall.

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