Pakistan will take on England in the third and final game of the ODI series at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Tuesday (July 13). The hosts have already clinched the series 2-0 with back to back wins.
The series might have been sealed but the next game, despite being a dead rubber in the context of the series, will hold significance in terms of the ICC ODI Super League as both teams will be looking to grab some points.
England have completely outplayed Pakistan in the series so far even though they were given an early jolt of key players being ruled out due to Covid. Their batting has not been impressive but the quick bowlers have dominated the series so far, with Sakid Mahmood and Lewis Gregory leading the attack from front and bagging 6 wickets each.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will have a lot to look upon for this last ODI of the series. Their batting has not clicked so far in the series with just one 50+ score, coming from Saud Shakeel. Bowling looked flat in the first game but stepped up in the second ODI with Hasan Ali picking up his fourth five-wicket haul and restricting England to a par score.
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England will be looking for the clean sweep while Pakistan will look to step up and end the ODI series on a high.
England
In the absence of key players from the side, the new captain Ben Stokes has had early taste of success with wins in both the matches so far.
The country might be mourning over the big loss on the football pitch this Sunday in Euro 2020 final, but the cricket team will look to bring the joy back to their home fans with a clean sweep victory in ODIs.
After a couple of comfortable wins, captain Ben Stokes will be looking to give another chance to the young players before heading into the T20Is. England team will be happy with the performances of their pacers, especially Lewis Gregory and Brydon Carse, who came in handy with the bat during the second ODI.
Expect the England team to go unchanged into the third ODI.
Pakistan
Pakistan team needs to sort a lot of things before the last ODI as their batsmen have lacked temperament so far in the series, throwing away the starts. The bowlers did seem to find their rhythm early into the second ODI but could not sustain it for long.
The tailenders got some handy runs in the second ODI to save the team from embarrassment, but the top order was blown away by the England pace attack.
The visitors will also have to look upon their seam bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, who has gone wicketless in the series so far while giving away plenty. The team might look to give speedster Mohammad Hasnain a chance in the last ODI.
The team will also expect their batsman to step up, especially their star captain Babar Azam who has not had a good run with the bat.
Predicted Playing XIs:
England: Philip Salt, Dawid Malan, Zak Crawley, James Vince, Ben Stokes(c), John Simpson(wk), Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Brydon Carse, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(wk), Saud Shakeel, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
