AFG vs PAK 3rd ODI Highlights: Pakistan Beat Afghanistan By 59 Runs

Pakistan pick up a victory by 59 runs as they complete a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series. 

Such an unfortunate way to get dismissed after playing a marvelous knock. Pakistan are now just one wicket away from completing a whitewash here as Mujeeb departs for 64. He did well to play that shot but couldn't get control on his body and got hit-wicket out.

This has been some innings from the star leg-spinner as he reaches his half-century in just 26 balls. He has smashed five sixes and three boundaries so far as he keeps his team alive in the contest. 

You can't keep Shadab out of the game for long. He gets his third wicket of the match as he dismisses Shahidullah for 37 to break the crucial partnership for Afghanistan. Pakistan need two wickets for victory now.

Mujeeb is dealing in boundaries at the moment as he stitches a 50-un stand for the 8th wicket with Shahidullah. Afghanistan take another 13 runs off Shadab's over.

A really poor decision by the on field umpire that. This was a straighter delivery that kept low and Mujeeb got beaten due to the lack of bounce. Got beaten and rapped on the pads, but with no Hawkeye and UltraEdge available, Mujeeb got away with it.

It looks like a tough challenge for Afghanistan to chase the total from this situation. Half of their side is back to the pavilion with Pakistan keeping it tight to make it tougher for them to score. Three runs came off that Shaheen's over. It's drinks break for now.

Afghanistan are in trouble now as they lose another one. The senior batter Gulbadin Naib departs without scoring to give Pakistan the 5th wicket. 

There's another one. The second success for Shadab in the over. Shahidi was trying to clear the mid-wicket region but only managed to find Imam as he departed for 13.

Shadab Khan breaks the partnership as he dismisses Riaz Hassan for 34. Hassan gets down to slogsweep and top-edges. Zaman runs in from deep square leg to hold onto the catch.

These two have done well so far to make a recovery for Afghanistan. 50 up for the chasing side as they remain very much in the game. 

Ashraf strikes again as he dismisses Ibrahim Zadran who failed to open his account. Rizwan makes no mistake behind the wicket. Afghanistan lose their second wicket. 

Ashraf provides the early wicket for Pakistan. Gurbaz decided to go upstairs but it remained umpire's call on hitting the stumps. Afghanistan lose their first wicket.  

A bit of an unsettled start from Shaheen as he bowled two wides and gave away six runs in the first over.

We bowled well in patches, I'd say 50-50, I think it's chasable. Excited to see how we play. To win ODIs, you have to play good cricket for 100 overs. To beat a team like Pakistan, you have to be consistent. Looks like a good wicket, hopefully, our batters can settle in and chase down this total.

That's quite a challenging total posted by Pakistan given how the pitch has behaved today. Not the easiest of wickets to score freely by any means and it was quite evident in the first innings.

Too much happened in that last over with Pakistan managing to take 16 runs off it. Faheem Ashraf was dismissed in the penultimate ball but his team reached 268 runs in their 50 overs.

Pakistan did manage to reach 250 but lost Md Nawaz as their seventh wicket who stitched a crucial partnership with Agha Salman. Just one over remaining now.

Nawaz and Slaman have done well to stitch this crucial partnership as they take seven more runs off Rashid Khan's over. Four overs to go. 

Pakistan have to make it count in the remaining overs as they reach the 200-run mark. They have four wickets in hand and it will be more interesting to see how many runs they get.

It looks like a batting collapse for Pakistan as they are losing back-to-back wickets now. Shadab Khan departs for 3 runs.

Shakeel's short innings comes to an end. Excellent fielding by Gurbaz who was swift to move across, gathered the ball, and scored a direct-hit with Shakeel out of his crease. He departs for 9. 

Rashid Khan does the job for his team. How many times does this guy step up? Babar was looking good and was up for a bug score but has to head back to the pavilion for 60. Pakistan lose their third wicket.

10 runs came off that Rashid Khan's over as skipper Babar also reached his half-century. 150 up for Pakistan as the duo look to make it big for their team in the remaining overs.

Rizwan looks in great touch as he brings up his half-century with the duo adding more misery for Afghanistan bowlers. They badly need a wicket at this moment. 

Pakistan reach the 100-run mark with their two prolific batters at the crease at the moment. Fifty partnership also comes up between both the batters as they look to make it big for the team as well. However, the run rate looks like a concerning thing at the moment. 

Gulbadin did well there with that over, giving just three runs. Both the batter look set at the moment and will be looking for a big partnership in order to reach a massive total.

The current run-rate is no 3.30 RPO. This needs to change in front of a disciplined bowline line-up of Afghanistan. Who will take the charge? - Will it be Babar or Rizwan?

Brilliant review from Mohammed Rizwan as Afghanistan team is shocked to see the replay by the DRS. Rashid finishes his fourth over.

The proceedings have been rather slow in this innings in terms of runs. Babar and Rizwan are taking their time against Rashid Khan. Rashid, on the other hand, is bowling beautifully.

This is a crucial juncture for Pakistan in this innings. Captain Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan are very capable of bailing them out of this precarious situation. 

Gulbadin gets his 2nd wicket. This time the egde carried through but to the keeper Gurbaz. Pakistan lose their second wicket. PAK 52/2 (12.5) 

Gulbadin Naib almost got another wicket. Imam-ul-Haq edged it but it didn't carry to Nabi in the first slip. Current run-rate is 4. PAK 44/1 (11)

There's the first breakthrough as the bowling change works for Afghanistan. Fakhar was looking good but departed for 27 runs. 

Fakhar has got a promising start to his innings having already smashed three boundaries so far. Imam hasn't picked up yet at the other end.

Last game was very good. Today is a new and fresh day, we'll try to come back and win. We don't get enough chances. We are playing some very good cricket in the last two years. We'll try to play good cricket. Our aim will be try and win. We have made two changes. Gulbadin and Fareed are in.

We'll bat first. The pitch looks very dry. A little bit of grass and the first ten overs will be crucial. We'll try to put runs on the board and then put pressure on them. We'll try to win this game. Everyone's excited. We have four changes. We are pretty satisfied. We are trying different combinations in this match. We'll try to give our best today also. Today's pitch is different from the ones we had in the LPL. I think it's a good pitch. I think 280-290 is a good total.

This has been a good start from Afghanistan and have given away just two runs in the first two overs. 

STARTING XI

We have got changes in our lineup for the 3rd ODI

Farid Ahmad and Gulbadin Naib come in
Abdul Rahman and Ikram Alikhil miss out

Here's our full lineup #AfghanAtalan | #AFGvPAK | #SuperColaCup | #ByaMaidanGato pic.twitter.com/Kl2uNTGacw, — Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 26, 2023

Our team for the final match of the series #AFGvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/9VGf2Vabwf, — Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 26, 2023

Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat first in the final ODI.

Toss to take place at 2:30 PM IST. Stay tuned for all the live updates!

The pitch at this venue is anticipated to be spin-friendly, which could play a pivotal role in determining the course of the match.

Having secured the series victory, Pakistan is aiming for a clean sweep as they face Afghanistan in the third and final ODI. Afghanistan, despite their dominant performance for a significant portion of the previous game, suffered a heart-wrenching one-wicket defeat.

This encounter holds significance not only for the series outcome but also as a precursor to the upcoming Asia Cup, scheduled to commence on August 30th. Pakistan will be eager to carry their momentum from this series into the Asia Cup tournament.

Hello and welcome to the live cricket coverage of the third and final ODI of the Pakistan vs Afghanistan series here in here in Sri Lanka.