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Pakistan eyes imposing total against Australia in Perth ODI courtesy Babar Azam's batting exploits

Pakistan Is Playing Australia In The Third ODI At Western Australian Cricket Ground (WACA) In Perth On Thursday. The WACA Is Historically Known To Be A Seam-friendly Track Offering A Lot Of Pace And Bounce.

PTI | Updated on: 19 Jan 2017, 11:51:33 AM
 Babar Azam - File Photo

New Delhi:

Pakistan is playing Australia in the third ODI at Western Australian Cricket Ground (WACA) in Perth on Thursday. The WACA is historically known to be a seam-friendly track offering a lot of pace and bounce. The series is levelled at 1-1 after Pakistan won the second ODI at MCG on Sunday. Australia skipper Steve Smith won the toss and put Pakistan to bat.

"We've traditionally chased pretty well here at the WACA," Smith said at the toss. "It's usually a little bit soft early and a bit tacky, so hard work with the new ball, and hopefully that's the case today."

Hazelwood struck early for Australia by removing opener Hafeez. Babar Azam and Sharjeel Khan then resurrected Pakistan's innings by registering impressive half centuries.

As per reports last coming in, Pakistan was well placed to put on a big target on the board as they had compiled 200 within 40 overs.

Australia announced their playing eleven on the eve of the match and did not spring any late surprises, with Peter Handscomb making his debut and fast bowler Billy Stanlake returning for his second ODI after struggling with illness on debut at the Gabba. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, while left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc has been rested.

Pakistan went in with the same XI that won the 2nd ODI on Sunday at the MCG, where they ended a streak of 16 consecutive losses to Australia in Australia across all formats.

Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Peter Handscomb, 5 Travis Head, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Billy Stanlake.

Pakistan 1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Hasan Ali.

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First Published : 19 Jan 2017, 11:35:00 AM

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