Pakistan Playing 11 vs South Africa - 3rd ODI, Pakistan Tour of South Africa 2024-25

Pakistan will be eyeing a historic whitewash when they lock horns against South Africa in the third and final ODI of the ongoing series. The game is scheduled to be played on Sunday (December 22) at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.

With the series already clinched, the visitors will now be looking to complete a famous whitewash. The visitors won the first ODI by 3 wickets before registering an 81-run win in the second game to go 2-0 up in the series.

Riding on the fifties from Mohammad Rizwan (80), Babar Azam (73), and Kamran Ghulam (63), the visitors scored 329 runs in 49.5 overs. For South Africa, Kwena Maphaka picked up 4 wickets while Marco Jansen claimed 3 wickets.

In reply, the Proteas were all out for just 248 runs in 43.1 overs. They were 185/4 at one stage before David Miller's dismissal opened the floodgates and triggered a collapse. For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah impressed with the ball, taking 4 and 3 wickets respectively.

With the visitors now eyeing another victory, we are taking a look at the Pakistan Playing 11 for the third SA vs PAK ODI.

Pakistan Playing 11 vs South Africa - 3rd ODI, Pakistan Tour of South Africa 2024-25:

Openers: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique

Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique look set to be the openers in the visiting team's Playing 11 for the third ODI. Ayub has enjoyed a brilliant outing with the bat in the series. In the first game, he scored a match-winning century before scoring 25 runs in the second ODI.

Unlike Ayub, Abdullah has had a disastrous campaign. The visiting opener got out for a duck in both games and will be desperate to turn things around in the third ODI.

Middle-order and allrounders: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Kamran Ghulam, Salman Agha, Irfan Khan

The visiting team management is likely to retain the same middle order in the Pakistan Playing 11 for the upcoming game.

Senior batsmen - Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan - starred with the bat in the second ODI and will be eyeing a similar performance in the third game as well. Rizwan scored 80 runs while Babar scored 73.

Salman Agha, who had played a match-winning knock of 82 runs in the first ODI, scored 33 runs in the second game. Kamran Ghulam had a good outing with the bat as well, scoring 63 runs while Irfan Khan could score only 15 runs. Irfan failed to impress with the bat in the first ODI as well but is likely to retain his spot in the Pakistan Playing 11.

Bowlers: Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Abrar Ahmed

The bowlers have played a huge role in the visitors' victory in the first two games. Shaheen Afridi has led the attack brilliantly. After taking only 1 wicket in the first game, he claimed 4 wickets in the second ODI.

Naseem Shah had gone wicketless in the first ODI before taking 3 wickets in the second game. Haris Rauf has had a disappointing campaign in the series so far. He is yet to take a wicket in the series and is expected to make way for Mohammad Hasnain in the Pakistan Playing 11. Abrar Ahmed has picked up 4 wickets in the series so far and looks set to retain his spot in the team.