New Delhi: Pakistan will face England in the third and last Test of the series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday, October 24. The Three Lions won the first Test by an innings and 47 runs but Shan Masood and Co. made a stunning comeback and won the second Test by 152 runs.
After Pakistan’s first Test win at home in three years and eight months, skipper Masood highlighted the need to understand the pitches of each venue so the team can make changes according to the conditions and able to take 20 wickets across the country.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made great efforts in Rawalpindi to emulate the surface on which Shan Masood and Co. won the second Test. The surface at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has been a pacer-friendly venue. Since the return of Test cricket at the venue in 2019, the spin bowlers have averaged 50 while the pacers have taken a wicket of every 34 runs.
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However, PCB has made some changes to the surface for the Test matches against Australia and England in 2022 which made it one of the flattest pitches in the world. The groundsmen have done a great hard work to dry out the surface for the last Test.
Pakistan Test Head Coach Jason Gillespie in the press conference said that the wicket is very dry and doesn’t have a lot of grass on it. He further added that the toss could again play an important role in the match.
“It (the wicket) is very dry with not a lot of grass on it. We probably expect it to favor the slower bowlers. The toss could again play a vital role, with the spinners expected to dominate the batters as the game goes on. It (the toss) is a 50-50 call, you always want it to go your way. Both teams will have that mindset but, yeah, we’ll see” Jason Gillespie said in the press conference.
Playing XI’s of Pakistan and England for third Test
Pakistan XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
