England vs Pakistan, 3rd Test, Preview – One last chance for the visitors to draw level in the series

The first two Tests of the England-Pakistan Test series saw contrasting fortunes. The first had the perfect drama till the ultimate ball and the second was a no-show. The Brits won the 1st Test by three wickets but the Pakistani pace attack did have the upper hand for the major part of the game and also during the England innings of the second Test. In the third Test, the inexperienced but lethal speedsters are also expected to repeat the success they amassed during the first two outings.

England will be missing their star all-rounder Ben Stokes again. The batting looks quite fragile but solid half-century from Zak Crawley with the determined Dominic Sibley did give them a bit of confidence. Joe Root will be looking forward to finally break the jinx and convert his starts into a daddy hundreds. However, all eyes will be on James Anderson as he is on the brink of becoming the first fast-bowler to take 600 Test wickets.

It will be interesting to see if Jimmy could take the remaining seven scalps in the last Test of the summer. On the other hand, Pakistan must be looking to level the Test series but for that, they need to bat reasonably well at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

Skipper Azhar Ali’s performance outside the subcontinent doesn’t give the required confidence but with the reputation that he carries, he will raring to go out and make his record better. Babar Azam the young star will be under the limelight as well. The star batsman will be looking to score a big inning to finally seal his position in the fictitious ‘Fab 4’.

Playing Combinations

England

The Three Lions have just found the right balance in the mixture. With Woakes’ presence, they have enough batting with five bowlers in the ammunition. Though with Stokes not around, England might go back to Jofra Archer as they might require a ‘hit-the-deck’ bowler at some point of time. In Sam Curran’s defence, he had a reasonable outing in the second Test with figures 1/44.

Anderson with his three wickets in the first innings made sure that he is playing the last Test of the summer. With bowling looking close to ideal, the hosts’ batting highly relies on captain Root and Ollie Pope. Rory Burns and Crawley would also be looking to make most the game as when Stokes comes back, one of them have to make way for the flamboyant southpaw.

Predicted XI– Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Joe Root (c), Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Dominic Bess, Sam Curran/Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

Pakistan

The touring party is also struggling with the bat, much like the home team. Their bowling line up looks well equipped with three pacers and Yasir Shah. But the top-order needs to face the English pace quartet well to ensure a solid start. The only positive is that three of their top four batsmen have scored the fifties in the ongoing series but they should be looking to convert it into a big total.

Fawad Alam, the only inclusion of the last Test, might get a go-ahead again after a duck in his only excursion. One Test match shouldn’t justify the potential of a lad, who is scoring tons of runs in domestic cricket for over a decade. The dark clouds over Azhar Ali form are the biggest matter of concern but Babar Azam will still be the centrepiece.

Predicted XI– Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah

Head to Head

Played- 85, England won- 26, Pakistan won- 21, No-Result- 38

In England

Played- 54, England won- 23, Pakistan won- 12, No-Result- 19

Stat Attack

29– Runs Babar Azam needs to complete 2,000 test runs.

7– Wickets James Anderson needs to complete 600 Test Wickets.

Broadcast Details

Match timings – 11:00 local time, 15:30 PM IST

TV – Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Ten Sports 1, and Sony Ten Sports 1 HD

Live Streaming– The match can be streamed online at Sony LIV.