Pakistan finish with 268/8

Pakistan's total is pretty difficult given how the pitch has played today. It was clear in the first innings that this was not the simplest of wickets on which to score freely. Imam-ul-Haq also didn't survive very long, while Fakhar Zaman was unable to build on the strong start he had earlier in the day. However, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had a crucial partnership for the third wicket after Gulbadin Naib quickly dismissed both of the openers during the powerplay.Although the conditions were not ideal for batting, the two hitters both reached their individual fifties and set the stage for the batters who came after them.

Agha Salman and Mohammad Nawaz made useful cameos in the dying stages, helping Pakistan surpass the 260-run threshold even though Shakeel and Shadab were dismissed for single digits. Afghanistan's fielding was rather average since they took a lot of chances, and their ground fielding wasn't very good either because they made a few fumbles. In the absence of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, can the Afghan hitters be able to take advantage of the circumstances?



In 30 minutes, the toss and team news will be announced.

Thank you for joining us for the third and final One Day International between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Following Pakistan's bowling out for 201 in the opening ODI, Haris Rauf destroyed Afghanistan. In the second One-Day International, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the standout with a run-a-ball 151 that helped Afghanistan score 300. They came within one run of achieving their first victory against their neighbors in any format, but Pakistan managed to scrape out a dramatic, exciting one-wicket victory with one ball remaining. Hambantota gives way to Colombo as the center of activities. Afghanistan will be eager to deliver another impressive performance although Pakistan may test their depth. Although this is a dead rubber, let's hope we get a thriller in return.

When the three-game rubber ends in Colombo on Saturday (August 26), Afghanistan will be hoping to rebound after losing on the penultimate ball to hand Pakistan the ODI series.

While the batting performance in the first game on a slow surface was less than ideal, Afghanistan made significant strides on a flatter surface in the second game to produce a respectable total of 300. If it weren't for the inexperience with the ball at the end, Pakistan may have pulled off a literal heist and won the match and the series at Hambantota by one wicket.

Little can be said about Afghanistan's spin assault, but both games' speed has been woefully lacking. The dead rubber ODI is Afghanistan's final opportunity to select their starting XI before the Asia Cup and impending World Cup.

When: Saturday, August 26, 3:00 PM Local Time

Where: R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Expect a day that will be partly overcast and a playing surface that isn't much different from what Hambantota offered for the first leg of the series.

 Team News

Afghanistan

 Afghanistan wouldn't want to make many changes to the starting lineup from the previous game, despite the setback.

Expected XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Shahidullah Kamal

Pakistan

With the series already won, Pakistan may rest one or more of their best bowlers and assess their depth of attack before the two major international competitions.

Expected XI:Imam ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi/Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

Squads:

Pakistan Squad: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Tayyab Tahir

Afghanistan Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Shahidullah Kamal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Abdul Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Najibullah Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Wafadar Momand, Azmatullah Omarzai, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem Safi