Daijiworld Media Network
Abu Dhabi, Feb 27: Welcome to the 3rd and final T20I between Pakistan and England from Abu Dhabi. This is the last game in this tour for England and they will be looking to end it on a high. Pakistan suffered their first T20I loss under the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq. They will be eager to put this defeat behind and clinch the series with a win today.
England have won the toss and elected to bat.
Misbah: I would have batted first. We had chased down a target in the previous T20I against Sri Lanka at this venue. We are going with an unchanged side. Hafeez is a very good player and he was a key performer last year in the T20s and ODIs. He needs to get us off to a start. We want to win this match for Mohsin and we need to get our confidence back.
Broad: The wicket looks a bit dry and we batted well in the previous game. This pitch will play slightly different to the Dubai pitch. The guys performed well in the previous match in the field. We would like to finish the series on a high.
Pitch Report: There are some rough patches of turf beside the wicket. There are a lot of cracks on the surface and it is an abrasive surface. Nick Knight points out that the average score at Abu Dhabi is 120-130. The England seamers will not enjoy it much and spin will play a huge part. There will be a lot of slower balls and cutters employed on this track. The teams will find it difficult to bat as the game progresses.
Teams:
Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Hafeez, Awais Zia, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal(w), Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Hammad Azam, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema
England (Playing XI): Kevin Pietersen, Craig Kieswetter(w), Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan, Jonathan Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Stuart Broad(c), Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn