After a disappointing performance in the Test series and the first ODI, England finally emerged triumphant in the second ODI against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi with flying colours. England will be keen to carry their winning form when they square off against England in the third ODI in Sharjah on Tuesday.
With the four-match ODI series tied at 1-1, the third ODI is an important one for both the sides as the team, which emerges triumphant on Tuesday, cannot lose the series irrespective of the fourth ODI result in Dubai.
Alex Hales, who scored the all important century in the second ODI, will once again hold the key in Sharjah. Apart from Hales, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan need to shine with the bat if they are to inch closer to a series win.
However, Pakistan have been a major disappointment in the batting department in both the ODIs as their top order have failed to deliver the goods. If Pakistan were struggling at 41 for the loss of three wickets in the first ODI, the men in green were even more pathetic in their batting display in the second ODI where they lost wickets at regular intervals. They had lost six wickets for 80 runs.
England were superb in all departments of the game in the second ODI as they scored an impressive 283 runs and dismissed Pakistan for 188 runs. Such performance from the England team took back Pakistan coach Waqar Younis, who is aware of the mighty task ahead of Pakistan in the ODI series.
"England bounced back and bounced back well, we probably were not thinking that they are going to play that well so we have to play out of our skins to make it 2-1," Waqar said.
"Obviously we were expecting a fightback from England but we also played poor cricket in that game. We were not up to the mark in batting and at no time we were in the game and we must make sure it doesn't happen next time."
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali, who has failed in both the matches, needs to lead the team from the front and find a way to tackle the English seamers as Chris Woakes, Reece Topley and David Willey are making life difficult for Pakistan batsmen. Another top order collapse could prove to be a disaster and could cost Pakistan the series as well.
Where to watch live
Pakistan vs England 3rd ODI match is scheduled for a 3pm local time (4:30pm IST, 11am GMT, 4pm PKT) start with live coverage in India on Ten Cricket. The live streaming option will be available on Tensports.com.
Pakistan cricket fans can enjoy the Pakistan vs England 3rd ODI match live on PTV with the option of watching it online on PTV Online.
Viewers in the UK can enjoy the entire Pakistan vs England 3rd ODI match live action on Sky Sports 2/HD, with live streaming on Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can watch Pakistan vs England ODI live on Willow TV and stream the game on Willow TV Online.
