Pakistan opt to bowl after winning toss in deciding Australia ODI

Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi bowls during the third one-day international (ODI) cricket match between Australia and Pakistan at the Perth Stadium in Perth on 10 November 2024.AFP

Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and chose to bowl in the third and final one-dayer against Australia in Perth on Sunday.

The series is finely poised at 1-1 after the hosts' two-wicket win in Melbourne before Pakistan stormed back with a dominant nine-wicket victory at Adelaide.

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith have all been rested for this game ahead of Australia's Test series against India beginning later this month.

In their place come pace bowlers Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson and Lance Morris, while Marcus Stoinis and Cooper Connolly bolster the batting.
Josh Inglis is captaining the side in the absence of Cummins.

In contrast, Pakistan named an unchanged side with Haris Rauf, who took 5-29 in Adelaide, leading the attack.

Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis (capt), Cooper Connolly, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Lance Morris

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (capt), Kamran Ghulam, Agha Salman, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

Umpires: Chris Brown (NZL), Shaun Haig (NZL)

TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)

Match referee: Dave Gilbert (AUS)