England wins the toss, opts to bat

RAWALPINDI: England won the toss and opted to bat on Thursday ahead of their third test match against England.

After winning the second test thanks to some incredible bowling by Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, Pakistan are looking to get skipper Shan Masood his second win as Pakistan test captain. The skipper remained optimistic after losing the toss.

The pitch, which had historically been beneficial for seam bowlers, has been dried out through the use of industrial size fans, outdoor heaters, and windbreakers, in order to transform the pitch into one that aids spin bowlers.

Due to this, both teams have elected to create a spin heavy bowling line-up. Pakistan are keeping the same playing XI from the second test, which contains spinners, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, and Zahid Mehmood, while England added Rehan Ahmed to join spinners Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach.

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The team who has opted to bowl first has historically won more matches at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Out of the 15 test matches played at the venue, the team batting first has only won three. However, England will be looking to take advantage of the changes made to the pitch, by forcing Pakistan to chase in their last innings on a deteriorated pitch that will favour spinners.

PAKISTAN playing XI: Shan Masood (c), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mehmood.

England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir

Pakistan playing XI for third test against England revealed