Pakistan take on Australia in their final warm-up match of 2017 Champions Trophy at Edgbaston on Monday.
The two teams are heading into the tie after having won their first warm-up matches. While Australia gunned down a 319-run target against Sri Lanka on Friday at Kennington Oval, Pakistan rode on 23-year-old Fahim Ashraf's late blitz in chase of 342 against Bangladesh on Saturday at Edgbaston.
Australia chose to rest their go-to-man Mitchell Starc in their last game, but he is expected to roll his arms over against Pakistan. Aaron Finch struck 137 from just 109 balls against Sri Lanka and the right-hander's form at the top of the order will give his team a lot of confidence.
While the batting line-up looks set with skipper Steve Smith, who had a successful Indian Premier League stint, leading from the front, the fifth bowling option with both Moises Henriques and Marcus Stoinis in the squad has to be sorted out. Also, Pat Cummins is likely to get the nod ahead of James Pattinson as the third seamer in the side.
On the other hand, Pakistan, who are going to face arch-rivals India in their tournament opener on Sunday, will look to head into the the much-anticipated tie with a win over the world champions under their belt. Mohammad Amir, who missed the Bangladesh tie, is likely to find a place in the playing line-up today.
Ashraf's ability to bowl medium pace as well adds a lot of depth to the Pakistan line-up. However, with both the spinners - Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan - being in impressive form, skipper Sarfraz Ahmad faces a problem of plenty as he gears up to decide on the team combination.
TV Schedule
Pakistan: PTV
Australia: Channel 9
Team News
Pakistan
Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz
Australia
Squad: Steven Smith (c), David Warner, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Zampa
