Mohammed Hafeez Quinton De Kock Pakistan South Africa
Mohammed Hafeez [Reuters]

Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the last game of the three-match Test series scheduled between the two sides on Thursday. The game will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.

Where to Watch Live

Play starts at 6:00am GMT. Live coverage of the game in the UK will be available on Zee Cinema. Follow live text commentary of the game on ESPN Cricinfo.

Overview

Pakistan come into this fixture having lost the second test match against Sri Lanka who have secured a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series.

Before the test-series began the hosts won the five-match One Day International series 3-2. However, the first of the three-match series ended in a draw after excellent batting performance from both sides could not lead either team to victory within five days.

In the second test, Pakistan opened the batting on day one, but succumbed to a total of just 165 runs in the innings with opener Khurram Manzoor (73) scoring the major chunk of the runs.

Sri Lanka then posted a convincing 223 runs lead in the first innings as Kaushal Silva (95) maintained his fine batting form in the series. Mahela Jayawardene too slammed 129 runs to help the visitors add 388 runs on their scoreboard.

Pakistan seemed to be heading for a humiliating defeat as Nuwan Pradeep tore through their batting lineup leaving the hosts with 19 runs at the loss of three wickets. However, Younis Khan (77), Misbah-ul-Haq (97) did what they can to pull off a rescue attempt with Sarfraz Ahmed too adding 74 runs to the tally.

The hosts managed a total of 359 runs as they ran out of wickets on day five. The Lankan's had little trouble in chasing the remaining deficit in the second innings and strolled to victory scoring 137 runs. Silva scored 58 before being dismissed by Saeed Ajmal for a leg before wicket. Dimuth Karunaratne (62) and Kumar Sangakkara (9) remained unbeaten to help the visitors take a 1-0 lead after the second test.

Skipper Angelo Matthews will be proud of his team's performance in both the matches and will hope that his side go all guns blazing and complete a 2-0 victory, while rival skipper Misbah-ul-Haq will look to inspire his side in an attempt to salvage a draw in the series.

Team News

Pakistan

Probable Lineup: Khurram Manzoor, Ahmad Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Bilawal Bhatti, Saeed Ajmal, Rahat Ali, Junaid Khan

Sri Lanka

Probable Lineup: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews (c), Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep