The Australian tour of Pakistan concludes with a T20I between on Tuesday, 5 April. This is a meeting of two in-form sides. Australia have won ten out of their last 12 T20Is, and Pakistan 11 out of 12. Pakistan's only defeat came – famously – in the World Cup semi-final which Australia won lost year, going on to lift the trophy.
Injuries, IPL commitments, and other absences mean that Australia do not have the same squad to call on this time. However, they will be boosted by the return of Josh Inglis and Ashton Agar, who were ruled out of the ODIs with Covid-19 but have since tested negative.
After Pakistan lost the first ODI, the series turned into a Babar Azam show. He produced two hundreds to help Pakistan avenged their loss in the Test series. Australia are yet to find a surefire way of getting him out cheaply.
Adam Zampa, one of the finest T20I spinners in the world, may be the man they look to in order to try and keep the runs down. How well his four overs go could play a big part in this match. If he bowls tightly and he picks up a wicket or two, Australia may have a chance. But if he has an off day, then Pakistan could well benefit.
Likely XIs
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Travis Head, Ben McDermott, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Cam Green, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff
Fantasy Tips
• Pick Babar and Rizwan, the two men at the top of the ICC rankings. They have an average partnership of 56.65, the third highest of any pairing in world cricket.
• Pick Shadab. He missed the ODIs with an injury, but, if fit again, he will want to remind the crowd of his all-round talent.
• Finch needs a good innings to remain in contention for the ODI World Cup next year. For that, he will want to head home on a high note. The omens are not good: he has made three ducks in his last four innings against Pakistan.