ISLAMABAD: A battered Pakistan cricket team will take on Afghanistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium for the third T20 match between the two sides today, Monday, after losing the first two matches of the series last week.
Afghanistan beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the second T20 match to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series on Sunday.
Needing 30 off the last three overs, and 22 from the last two, Afghan batters Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi hit a six each off pace bowler Naseem Shah in the penultimate over to reduce the target to five runs.
Pakistan is playing the three-match series to "compensate" Afghanistan after Australia called off its scheduled ODI series against Afghanistan last month. Cricket Australia said the decision was taken due to the Taliban government's increasing restrictions on Afghan girls and women in the country.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi had announced that Pakistan decided to rest senior players such as skipper Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Muhammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf and Fakhar Zaman, for the series.
He said the series would prove as a platform for upcoming youngsters and Pakistan Super League (PSL) stars to perform at the international level.
Skipper Shadab Khan is leading the Pakistani side against Afghanistan.
