Pakistan, on Tuesday (January 16), announced their playing XI for the must-win third T20I against New Zealand. The third match of the five-match series is scheduled to be played at Dunedin’s University Oval on Wednesday (January 17).
The team led by Shaheen Afridi is on the verge of conceding the series after losing the first two matches. A loss in the next game will see them lose the series with two games remaining. In the first two games, Pakistan players struggled to contain the New Zealand batsmen.
In the series opener in Auckland, New Zealand amassed a massive total of 226/8 to record their highest score against Pakistan in the format. In response, the Men in Green were bowled out for 180 runs and suffered a 46-run defeat. In the second game, New Zealand defeated the visitors by 21 runs. The Black Caps scored 194/8 before bowling out Pakistan for 173.
Pakistan playing XI for the third T20I:
With the series on the line, Pakistan have made three changes to their playing eleven. After the bowlers struggled in the first two games, the tourists dropped Aamer Jamal and Usama Mir from the playing eleven, while Abbas Afridi He has been ruled out of the game due to an abdominal strain.
In the second game, Jamal conceded 42 runs in 4 overs and managed to pick up 1 wicket. On the other hand, Mir picked up 1 wicket for 39 runs. Afridi was also expensive as he conceded 43 runs even though he got 2 wickets. Afridi impressed in the first game, taking 3 wickets for 34 runs on his debut. They have been replaced by Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Zaman Khan in the Pakistan Playing XI.
The tourists will be desperate to win the third game to keep the series alive and improve their record in two-way series in recent times. Since 2022, Pakistan has not won a single T20I series and lost to Australia, England and Afghanistan during this period.
Pakistan playing XI for the third T20I: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi (C), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan