Toss Australia chose to bat v Pakistan
Australia captain Aaron Finch, who had chosen to field every time he won the toss the tournament so far, elected to set a target on a hard, flat surface that suggests a high-scoring final beckons.
Australia made only one change from the side that beat Zimbabwe in a close finish two days ago, with batsman Nic Maddinson replaced by D’Arcy Short.
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed insisted his side wanted to field first in any case, confident in their ability to restrict the opposition to a manageable total. They made two changes, which include a debut for opening batsman Sahibzada Farhan, in the side in place of left-hander Haris Sohail. The other change is the return of fast bowler Hasan Ali, coming in for Usman Khan.
Since making his List A debut in 2016, Farhan has lit up the Pakistan domestic scene in spectacular fashion. In 21 games at that level, Farhan has notched up three hundreds and eight half-centuries, averaging over 52 with the bat at a strike rate over 90. In T20s, he averages 36.50 from 13 innings with two half-centuries, and while he didn’t quite manage to replicate that success with Islamabad United in the PSL earlier this year, he provided a glimpse of what he could do on the biggest stage. He scored 44 off 33 in an opening partnership of 96 with Luke Ronchi in the final, helping Islamabad clinch the title. The sense that the 22-year old’s star is only on the rise is inescapable.
Both sides have won three and lost one match in the lead-up to the tri-series final. Pakistan are guaranteed to retain the number one T20I ranking regardless of the outcome.
Australia: 1 Aaron Finch (capt) 2 Alex Carey (wk) 3 Travis Head 4 Glenn Maxwell 5 D’Arcy Short 6 Marcus Stoinis 7 Jack Wildermuth 8 Ashton Agar 9 Andrew Tye 10 Jhye Richardson 11 Billy Stanlake
Pakistan: 1 Fakhar Zaman 2 Sahibzada Farhan 3 Hussain Talat 4 Shoaib Malik 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk) 6 Asif Ali 7 Faheem Ashraf 8 Shadab Khan 9 Mohammad Amir 10 Hasan Ali 11 Shaheen Afridi