Pakistan win toss and chooses to bowl first against Australia on Sunday in the fifth and final ODI match of the five-match series in Dubai.
Australian Cricket team will look forward to whitewash Pakistan, whereas Pakistan cricketers’ sole aim would be to avoid it.
In the fourth game, debutant Abid Ali made a dream international debut with a century against Australia. But, despite Abid’s century, coupled with Mohammad Rizwan’s second of the series, Pakistan lost the match by six runs. Australia had posted 277 for seven at the back of 98 from Glenn Maxwell, Usman Khawaja’s 62 and Alex Carey’s 55.
The win gave Australia a 4-0 lead. Abid admitted the defeat took the gloss off a memorable occasion.
The 31-year-old was rewarded for his high run scoring in domestic cricket, as well as for the Pakistan ‘A’, and he grabbed the opportunity with a brilliant and attractive 112 off 119 balls against a resurgent Australia.
Pakistan wanted to use this series to finalise the last four places of the 15-member squad to be selected for the World Cup. However, the poor performances of the mainstays, alongside Rizwan’s prolific run and Abid’s impressive start to his career, have added to selectors’ problems.
For Australia, the previous match further consolidated their momentum. It was the first time in the ongoing series that they came under some pressure, but they held their nerves to take a 4-0 lead.
The fifth and final ODI will be held at the same venue.
Pakistan’s probable XI: Imam ul Haq/Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saad Ali, Umar Akmal, Imad Wasim (c) Junaid Khan, Usman Shinwari, Mohammad Amir/Mohammad Hasnain, Yasir Shah
Australia’s probable XI: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kane Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa
