Pakistan vs Australia 3rd ODI Preview & Tips – Pakistan tipped for comeback win against Australia

Australia kept themselves in the series as their score of 231/9 proved too much for Pakistan. 

Pakistan have secured wins in five of their last 10 against Australia, with the latter winning the other five. 

Pakistan would have felt they were in the ascendancy in the second ODI as they restricted Australia to what looked a chaseable score of 231/9. Arafat Minhas (2/27) continued to give Australia all kinds of problems with the ball as he accounted for the dangerous Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne. 

However, Pakistan lost their openers cheaply and this saw Australia run through much of their top orders. Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (37) showed some signs of fight with the bat early on before Shadab Khan (71 from 104) battled hard, but both were given little run-scoring support. Babar Azam(16) was removed cheaply by Nathan Ellis, with this seeing the home side slump to 33/3 as their talisman was forced to head back to the stands. 

The third ODI will more than likely be a tight affair where the two sides battle to ensure they do not suffer from more batting collapses. For the Aussies, their score of 200 all out in the first ODI was nowhere near enough, while Pakistan’s total in the second ODI saw them fall well short. 

The one constant has been wickets for Minhas, and I back this to continue in the third ODI. Pakistan’s key bowler in the series has found turn and movement whenever it has been available, and I back him to lead his side to a battling win. 

Australia knew they needed a much improved performance in the second ODI after slumping to a five-wicket loss at the hands of their hosts in their first meeting. Matt Renshaw (61) and Matt Short (55) were the only two that could really hold their heads up high after a performance that failed to inspire and saw the tourists go 1-0 down.

In the second ODI, the Aussies were far closer to the team we expected to see. Their score of 231/9 may not have set the world alight for hitting, but they pieced together a score they knew was defendable. With the ball they were far better as they used the conditions to keep the pressure on Pakistan. With runs not flowing freely, this ramped up the pressure and saw wickets fall regularly. 

With Australia looking to build around a string of young players and Pakistan often one delivery away from a collapse, the third and final ODI should be very tight. The batting units of both sides will be in the spotlight throughout, and I back Australia’s batters to be the ones that struggle as they slip to a 2-1 series loss.