Australia Win Toss And Bat In Pakistan Test

SYDNEY, Jan 3 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 03rd Jan, 2017 ) - Australia won the toss and chose to bat in the third Test against Pakistan in Sydney on Tuesday. Pakistan made two changes with opener Sharjeel Khan making his Test debut in place of Sami Aslam and Imran Khan replacing fellow paceman Sohail Khan.

Australia also made two changes with all-rounder Hilton Cartwright making his Test debut at No.6 for Nic Maddinson and Steve O'Keefe added as an extra spinner at the expense of Jackson Bird. Australia have already wrapped up the series after wins in Brisbane and Melbourne and are bidding for a 3-0 series clean sweep.

"There's a bit of grass on the pitch and I'm hoping it will break up during the Test so our spinners can have an impact," Australia skipper Steve Smith said.

Counterpart Misbah-ul-Haq said the first session would be important for his Pakistan bowlers.

"We're hoping to get something from the pitch for our new ball bowlers," Misbah said. Teams Australia: David Warner, Matthew Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (capt), Peter Handscomb, Hilton Cartwright, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Steve O'Keefe, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.

Pakistan: Azhar Ali, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Imran Khan. Umpires: Sundaram Ravi (IND) and Richard Illingworth (ENG) Third umpire: Ian Gould (ENG) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)