Abu Dhabi Oct 18 (TNS): Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first in the third and series-deciding ODI in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Uncapped Imam-ul-Haq is in for Ahmed Shehzad, who failed to perform with the bat in the opening two matches of the series.
Imad Wasim made way for Fahim Ashraf, who debuted during Champions Trophy in June this year.
Pakistan will look to continue their winning momentum after beating Sri Lanka by 32 runs in the second ODI on Monday, and taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series while this became Sri Lanka’s ninth defeat in a row. For Pakistan, it was the sixth consecutive win in ODIs and the eighth victory in last 10 ODIs.
Babar Azam scored a second successive hundred while Shadab Khan gave his career best batting to help Pakistan reach 219-9 on a sluggish Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch. Shadab then returned with his best figures of 3-47 to dismiss Sri Lanka for 187 all out in 48 overs.
“I can´t praise the bowlers enough for defending this 220,” said Sarfraz after the match. “Babar and Shadab are very young and it was nice to see them bat so well.”
Sri Lankan skipper Upal Tharanga admitted his batting let the team down.
“It´s disappointing to lose,” said Tharanga. “When you´re 90 for 7, it´s a tough task. It was good to carry the bat, but I´m disappointed with the result.”
