Pakistan vs. England, 3rd T20I: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

England wrap up their tour to the United Arab Emirates on Monday with the third and final match of the Twenty20 series against Pakistan.

Back-to-back victories for England in Dubai means the series is already over as a contest.

However, with the ICC World Twenty20 coming up in March, 2016, the last fixture is not your normal dead rubber.

The tourists have shuffled their pack so far in the series. Jos Buttler took charge for the second T20 on Friday, as usual captain Eoin Morgan stepped aside to give other players an opportunity.

As for Pakistan, their 2-0 win in the Test series now seems a distant memory. 

They were beaten by a 3-1 scoreline in the one-day series and are now on a five-match losing run against England. 

Date: Monday, November 30, 2015

Time: 8 p.m. local (4 p.m. GMT, 11 a.m. ET)

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE

Live Stream and TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), PTV (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), Ten Sports (Bangladesh), NowTV (UK Streaming Service)

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, the skies will be clear on Monday. Temperatures are expected to be around 19 degrees Celsius.

Overview

INEKE ZONDAG/Getty Images

Pakistan were one good hit away from squaring the series in the second Twenty20.

Needing four off the last ball to reach a target of 173, Anwar Ali's swing and a miss meant England were the ones celebrating.

Still, there were some positives for the "hosts" (Pakistan play their matches in the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns in their homeland) to take out of the defeat.

Ahmed Shehzad and Shoaib Malik bolstered the batting order after missing the first game due to illness and injury respectively, per George Dobell of ESPN Cricinfo.

Captain Shahid Afridi also had an excellent all-round game. He followed up figures of three for 15 with the ball by belting 24 runs from just eight deliveries, in the process rekindling Pakistan's hopes.

However, they still remain a work in progress.

The fielding was once again patchy, as bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed admitted after the game, per Sky Sports: "Modern cricket and its protocols have changed. We were sitting at No. 2 in Twenty20 because we have skilled players. But maybe we are lacking in fitness and fielding and if you analyse that then it's a fitness game."

With only pride on the line, Pakistan have to consider whether to make alterations to their XI.

Mohammad Irfan and Aamer Yamin have yet to feature in the series, though team management will be wary of giving players a game just for the sake of it.

After the finale against England, Pakistan have a three-match T20 series away in New Zealand early in 2016 before the ICC World Twenty20 in India.

England, meanwhile, should be pretty happy with their lot.

All 15 members of their touring party have appeared in at least one game. Crucially, no matter who has been picked, they have played in an adventurous manner throughout.

But, although their success in the UAE offers hope for the future, they should not get too carried away just yet. They will have to beat better teams than Pakistan, as pointed out by Vic Marks in the Guardian:

"

Before contemplating World Cup glory, it may be time for a caveat. There are many better one-day sides around than Pakistan.

They do not possess many batsmen capable of inducing insomnia among the bowling fraternity; their running between the wickets may well inflict premature baldness on their coach, Waqar Younis, and if the ball goes in the wrong direction, ie towards Sohail Tanvir, the fielding is suspect.

"

Still, England are in a better place right now than their opponents, particularly when you consider the current squad is missing the injured trio of Steven Finn, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood.

So, how should they play it for the third T20 in Sharjah?

Captain Morgan, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan and Reece Topley were the quartet who sat out the last game.

All four will hope to be recalled, and England have already shown a willingness to change a winning formula. Whoever gets the nod, their target will be to seal a series sweep.

Key Players

Pakistan

Shahid Afridi led from the front in the second Twenty20, making valuable contributions with bat and ball.

Pakistan will want more of the same from their experienced skipper. However, Afridi could have seen his team over the line in the closing stages. 

After hammering three sixes to get back Pakistan's faltering chase back on track, he was caught going for another big hit off the final ball of the 18th over.

England

David Willey will hope to get one more chance to impress before the tour comes to a conclusion.

After an excellent one-day series, the all-rounder failed to make an impact in the second T20. He made only four off five balls with the bat, while his four overs went for 43 runs.

With competition for places hotting up, particularly with fellow paceman Liam Plunkett taking six wickets in the series so far, Willey could do with an eye-catching performance to keep up with the rest of the pack.

Squads

Pakistan

Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Rafatullah Mohmand, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Bilal Asif, Imran Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Aamer Yamin.

England

Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes.