Pakistan vs Australia
3rd T20 International
Match Preview

The third and final T20 International between Pakistan and Australia will be played on Sunday, 9th September 2012 in Dubai. Although, Pakistan has already bagged the series by winning the first two matches after a fine all-round performance. Meanwhile, if we preview the final match it is again expected to be hard-fought because Team Australia will try its level best to save a cleansweep. Pakistan, on the other hand, will try and wipe-off any after-effects of their recent ODI Series whitewash at Australian hands by winning all three matches and buoying themselves further for the World Cup.

Pakistan has already made a great start towards their dream, as they start their journey for the higher glory for the World T20 Championship. With the World T20 so close, Pakistan will be keen to give an opportunity to some of the men who have sat-out the first two games. This final gave may prove to be a good testing point to work around with as they have some fine players in the bag.

Last but not the least, Pakistan Cricket team’s most influential player Shahid Afridi is again unlikely to play in the final Twenty20 due to his ongoing thumb injury but Saeed Ajmal is expected to be fit after hurting his left shoulder during Pakistan's win on Friday. Hafeez said there seemed little point risking Afridi in Monday's encounter with the Aussies.

After a much improved performance, Australia would be again giving their 100% to bag at least one win before the big tournament kick starts to boost the morale of their team. Not many changes in their squad are expected for the final match as almost all the players performed much better compared to the first match. We all have to wait and watch if the Aussies can turn the tables on Pakistan and restrict them from running away with a cleansweep.

Hafeez has now lost only one of his four matches as Pakistan's T20 captain. With runs coming from the top order and wickets being shared among the bowlers, the signs are encouraging ahead of the World T20. He said he was happy with the way the team was building towards the world tournament.

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
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