Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first in the series’ final one-day international (ODI) game against Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is hosting the series, which Pakistan has already won 2-0. Pakistan will aim to sweep the series in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Pakistan will not only enjoy the clean sweep victory if they win the game today; they will also pass Australia and take the top spot in the ODI rankings according to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The Pakistani captain, Babar Azam, predicted that the first 10 overs will be challenging before today’s match.
He added that there had been four changes to the playing eleven, saying “We will put even more pressure on the Afghan team by setting a huge target.”
He also said that Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, and Mohammad Wasim Jr. are taking Usama Mir, Iftikhar Ahmed, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf’s places on the field today.
However, Afghanistan suffered a setback when all-rounder Azmatullah Umarzai was forced to withdraw from the third ODI owing to a side injury.
Azmatullah has been replaced, according to the Afghanistan Cricket Board, by all-arounder Gulbadin Naib.
