With series already lost, Pakistan eye to salvage honour in fourth ODI

The ongoing One Day International (ODI) series between Pakistan and Australia has been a sorry tale for the Men in Green as they have so far been unable to register a win and have already lost the series.

Australia, enjoying an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five match series, would like to continue its domination, whereas Pakistan would now battle to salvage its pride in the fourth ODI at Dubai on Friday.

The series raised many question marks for Pakistan, especially its experimentation policy came under the scanner after a number of key players including regular skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman were dropped.

Whereas, stand-in skipper Shoaib Malik, too came under fire for his controversial statements after the match and questionable decision-making and bowling changes on the field.

Moreover, the team has delivered below par performance in all three matches, its batsmen while batting first were not able to score big especially the top order was a major disappointment, whereas, it crumbled yet again while chasing a target well under 270 runs.

Its bowlers too have so far not been able to trouble the Aussies batsmen with top order easily managing them and cruising to victories.

On the other side, it has been a totally different story for the Australians, which are rising just at the right time. Australia's win over Pakistan on Wednesday was their sixth-straight ODI victory, sealing back-to-back series wins abroad for the first time since 2016 after also beating India earlier.

Skipper Aaron Finch is leading from the front and is enjoying a terrific form, with two back to back centuries in the first two ODIs, Finch was well on his way to hit another in the third ODI but fell on 90 to post a respectable total on the board.

Finch was equally supported by fellow opening batsman Usman Khwaja on the other end, whereas, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb and Glenn Maxwell have all been in good nick at the top of the order.

Squads:

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (captain), Abid Ali, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saad Ali, Shan Masood, Umar Akmal, Usman Shinwari and Yasir Shah

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa