Pakistan National Cricket Team
Pakistan National Cricket Team (Image Credits: Twitter)
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PAK vs ENG, Pakistan Playing 11 vs England- 3rd Test. Hosts Pakistan will be looking to salvage some pride when they face England in the third and final Test played at National Cricket Stadium in Karachi on Saturday, 17th December. Currently, England are 2-0 up in the three-match Test series after victories in Rawalpindi and Multan. After losing the series, the home side might make one or two changes to their playing XI for the final Test.

Pakistan Skipper Babar Azam will be looking to lead from the front with the bat and hoping that the side can earn a consolation win over England in this dead rubber. On the other hand, England captain Ben Stokes will be hoping that the side can guard against complacency and play to their potential in the final Test.

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Pakistan vs England (Getty Images)
Pakistan vs England (Getty Images)

On a pitch that yielded 1768 runs for the match, the third-highest aggregate in history, the visitors’ bold declaration at tea on a penultimate day gave them four sessions in which to claim 10 wickets with Pakistan needing 343 to win.

Centuries to newcomer Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, and Ben Duckett – returning after six years outside the Tests fold – in England’s record first innings of 657 were brought into context on the flattest of tracks as Pakistan produced three of their own in containing the tourists’ advantage to 78 runs, Will Jacks claiming six wickets on debut.

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Then came another Harry Brook star turn, his rapid-fire 87 off 65 balls the highlight of England’s second innings, upstaged only by Ben Stokes’ surprise decision to declare. Pacers Ollie Robinson and James Anderson picked 4 wickets apiece to restrict Pakistan to 268.

1st Test:- England 657 (Brook 153, Crawley 122, Pope 108, Duckett 107) and 264 for 7 dec (Brook 87, Root 73, Crawley 50) beat Pakistan 579 (Babar 136, Imam 121, Shafique 114, Jacks 6-161) and 268 (Shakeel 76, Anderson 4-36, Robinson 4-50) by 74 runs

Chasing 355 for victory, Pakistan looked in the hunt before being all out for 328 in the second session on day four of the contest. On a nerve-shredding fourth and final day in Multan, Mark Wood was that man, as the hosts gutsy pursuit of 355 was thwarted with just 26 runs left to defend. Saud Shakeel top-scored for the hosts with a valiant 94, while Imam-ul-Haq made 60, but it was not enough in the end. Mark Wood was the pick of the England bowlers, claiming 4-65 as England registered their first series win in Pakistan since 2000-01.

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2nd Test:- England 281 (Duckett 63, Pope 60, Abrar 7-114) and 275 (Brook 108, Duckett 79, Abrar 4-120) beat Pakistan 202 (Babar 75, Shakeel 63, Leach 4-98) and 328 (Shakeel 94, Imam 60, Wood 4-65) by 26 runs

For Karachi Test, the home side might include Mohammad Wasim Jnr, and Shan Masood in place of Mohammad Ali and Salman Ali Agha. In the batting department, the side will be relying on the top order of Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam to deliver the bulk of the runs.

2nd Test: Saud Shakeel Courtesy: AP
2nd Test: Saud Shakeel Courtesy: AP

In the middle order, rookie Saud Shakeel has shown excellent temperament and technique for the hosts in this Test series. The left-hander batter is currently leading the batting charts for the hosts. In four outings, Saud Shakeel has accumulated 270 runs at an average of 67.50 with three half-centuries to his name.

Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed.
Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed.- File picture

In the bowling department, the side will be relying on the likes of Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Abrar Ahmed, Zahid Mehmood, and Faheem Ashraf to deliver crucial breakthroughs. In his Test debut for Pakistan, rookie leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed was the outstanding bowler and claimed 11 wickets in the match.

Naseem Shah has been ruled out of Pakistan’s plans for the third Test in Karachi, after failing to recover from the shoulder niggle that caused him to miss this week’s 26-run defeat in Multan.
Naseem Shah
Naseem Shah (Image Credit: Getty)
Naseem Shah was in visible discomfort during the Rawalpindi Test, particularly while throwing the ball in from the outfield. However, he still put in an impressive bowling performance, claiming five wickets on an unresponsive surface, including 3 for 140 in England’s first innings.
Another pacer Haris Rauf got injured in the first innings while bowling in the first Test and is ruled out of the series.

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Abrar Ahmad, Hasan Ali, Zahid Mahmood.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood.

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PAK vs ENG, Pakistan Playing 11 vs England- 3rd Test

Abdullah Shafique

Abdullah Shafique
Abdullah Shafique Image Source: Twitter

Abdullah Shafique has played 9 Tests since debuting in 2021 against Bangladesh. He has amassed 915 runs averaging 61 which includes 3 tons and 4 fifties. His career-best score of 160* came against Sri Lanka at Galle in July 2022.

He also scored 136* against Australia in Rawalpindi in March 2022. He has also played 1 ODI and 3 T20Is. In this ongoing Test series, he has amassed 179 runs averaging 44.75 while opening with a best of 114 runs.

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