Upbeat Australia aim to take series
Australia can wrap up the series with victory in Adelaide after going 2-0 up at the SCG
Match Facts
Start time 1355 (0325 GMT)
The Big Picture
Australia can wrap up the series with victory in Adelaide after going 2-0 up at the SCG, where they enjoyed their third-greatest winning margin over Pakistan in terms of runs with a 140-run triumph. The visitors will find it difficult to come back in the five-match series but the first step must be to win on Australia Day to ensure the final two games in Perth do not become dead rubbers. To achieve that, they will need a much stronger batting performance than they showed in Sydney, where they were skittled for 127 chasing 268.Form guide (most recent first)
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Watch out for...
Umar Akmal has the type of game that should be suited to the 50-over format but he has not yet fired in this series. His past four ODI innings read 9, 12, 23 and 0, and he will be searching for a big effort to ease any pressure over his place in the middle order. Adelaide, where the bounce is true and the square boundaries are short, is as good a place as any to turn his form around.Team news
Australia are unlikely to make any changes to their winning side unless forced to and the only doubt surrounds Peter Siddle, who reported back soreness following Sunday's win. The Queensland fast man Ryan Harris has been added to the squad as a shadow player and could add to his sole ODI appearance if Siddle cannot play. "Peter Siddle experienced some back soreness after last night's ODI in Sydney," Alex Kountouris, the team physio said. "He'll be assessed during the course of the day tomorrow when a decision on his availability for the match at Adelaide Oval will be made."Pitch and conditions
Adelaide is renowned as a batsman's paradise but in the past seven ODIs at the venue the highest team total was 255. And in five of the past six there the team batting first has lost the match. It's the sort of ground where batting doesn't get any harder as the day wears on and the team that bats first won't be confident with anything less than 260. The weather should be fine with a high temperature of 33C.Stats and trivia
- Australia have won 28 of the 39 ODIs they've played at Adelaide Oval; Pakistan have won three of 14 there, including the most recent game between the two sides, in 1996
- Younis Khan is set to play his 200th one-day international. He will be the 12th Pakistan player to reach the milestone and the third in their current squad, behind Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf
- Australia's attack is so inexperienced in ODIs that their two leading wicket-takers are Shane Watson (104) and Michael Clarke (52)
- This will be the 13th one-day international to be held in Adelaide on Australia Day. The venue has also hosted Test cricket on 17 Australia Days over the years.
Quotes
"I have a feeling with this group and the way we have been playing our cricket that we won't let them back into the competition at all."Ricky Ponting expects Australia to go 3-0 up
Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo