Last Updated on 5 months by Charbel Coorey

PAK vs AUS 3rd Test Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible 11 Pitch Report | PAK vs AUS 3rd Test Dream11 Prediction Today | Pakistan vs Australia 3rd Test Key Players | Lahore Pitch Report

The highly-anticipated Test series between Pakistan and Australia has been bubbling away with the teams now to contest a decider at Lahore. Following the drab, dull and uninspiring draw at Rawalpindi, Pakistan and Babar Azam etched themselves in the record books in a magnificent show of fight and patience in Karachi.

Pakistan’s reward for batting 171.4 overs will be a shot at a series win. They will come into this game feeling positive about their chances after avoiding defeat from an almost impossible situation early on day four. However, the key question will be whether their bowlers can take all 20 Australian wickets to hold the series trophy at the end of the match.

For Australia, the question will be whether Pat Cummins’ team can bounce back quickly after the disappointment of Karachi. It was a match they controlled for three-and-a-half days before toiling away for no reward in yet another instance where they were unable to close out victory on the fifth day. With the Lahore track looking pretty good for batting once again, Australia’s attack will have to dig very deep to win this one.

All to play for.

Possible Playing 11

Pakistan could look at a debut for legspinner Zahid Mahmood.

Pakistan: 1. Imam-ul-Haq, 2. Abdullah Shafique, 3. Azhar Ali, 4. Babar Azam (c), 5. Fawad Alam, 6. Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7. Faheem Ashraf, 8. Hassan Ali, 9. Nauman Ali, 10. Sajid Khan/Zahid Mahmood, 11. Shaheen Shah Afridi

Australia will stick with the same team, including Mitch Swepson who had a tough debut.

Australia: 1. David Warner, 2. Usman Khawaja, 3. Marnus Labuschagne, 4. Steve Smith, 5. Travis Head, 6. Cameron Green, 7. Alex Carey (wk), 8. Mitchell Starc, 9. Pat Cummins (c), 10. Mitchell Swepson, 11. Nathan Lyon

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Pakistan:

• Imam-ul-Haq had a quiet second Test after twin centuries in the first. He returns to a ground he enjoyed some success at in First Class cricket in late 2021, where he scored 72 and 202*.
• Abdullah Shafique has been the second innings specialist so far in this series. He has scored a century and a fighting 96 in the second innings of the two Tests.
• What a performance it was by Babar Azam in Karachi. His 196 is now the highest fourth innings score by a captain in Test history. His Test average against Australia has now crossed 40 (42.31), with 677 runs to his name in nine Tests.
• Mohammad Rizwan also showed his class on the final day. His century sealed the draw for Pakistan, and he will be keen to be proactive once again.
• Shaheen Shah Afridi has taken just the four wickets at an average of 51.00 in this series. He has bowled better than those figures suggest, and will be key especially if the ball reverses in Lahore.
• Nauman Ali took just the one wicket in the Karachi Test, but he remains the top wicket-taker in this series with seven wickets.

Australia:

• Usman Khawaja is in rare touch. The left-hander has struck scores of 137, 101*, 6, 11, 97, 160 and 44* since his return to the Test team. He is the only player to have at least 300 runs in this series so far, and averages 88.55 in seven Tests vs Pakistan.
• Steve Smith has struck scores of 78 and 72 in this series. Such form is reflective of his past couple of years, where he has made half-centuries but hasn’t been able to convert. Can he do so here? He averages 56.56 in 11 Tests vs Pakistan.
• David Warner has had a quiet series so far (avg. 37), but still averages over 91 in his career against Pakistan (1,195 runs in nine Tests).
• Marnus Labuschagne will also be after a big innings after running himself out in the first innings at Karachi. The world’s number one Test batsman has scored 90 and 44 in his other two knocks.
• It is a huge game for Nathan Lyon. He gave Australia hope of a late win in Karachi, but it was too late. He has taken six wickets at 60.16 in this series, and averages 49.17 overall in 11 Tests vs Pakistan (39 wickets).
• Mitchell Starc will be a key weapon for Australia, especially if the ball reverses. He was brilliant in the first innings in Karachi, where he took 3/29.
• Pat Cummins has taken four wickets at 47.75, but he has bowled better than those figures suggest. The skipper will be key.

Stats and Facts

• Australia’s last Test in Lahore was in 1994. They drew the Test to win the series on that occasion.
• Azhar Ali needs 74 runs to reach 7,000 in Tests.
• Steve Smith is 66 away from 8,000 Test runs. If he reached the mark in either of his next two innings, he will be the fastest ever to the milestone.
• In a Test series with a minimum of two matches, this series has the third-highest batting average (55.30) and third-highest strike rate (128.7) in Test history.

Gaddafi Stadium Lahore Pitch Report and Weather

There were six matches at Lahore in the 2021/22 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which is Pakistan’s First Class competition. All six ended in draws, with regular scores of over 400 and 500. Once again, the pitch looks really good for batting, so the toss is crucial in hot temperatures of around 35 degrees.

Dream11 Prediction

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article as well as your own instincts to create your teams.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction

Base team:

• Wicket-keepers: Mohammad Rizwan
• Batsmen: Steve Smith, Babar Azam
• All-rounders: Marnus Labuschagne
• Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Match Prediction

The toss will be important as well as whether the teams can get the ball to reverse. Plus, how much the pitch breaks up and turns will help decide the result.

However, given how good the pitch looks and all the recent draws in First Class cricket, the draw looks the most likely result.