Pakistan vs ICC World XI 2017, 3rd T20I at Lahore: Babar Azam vs Morne Morkel, PAK’s death bowling and other key battles

Being the decider, the match surely promises to be a thriller as both teams will fight it out to come out on top and emerge victorious AFP

Pakistan had gone off to a flying start in the opening tie on the return of international cricket at home. Unfortunately, they could not hold their nerves as they slumped to a defeat in the second tie. Now they gear themselves to face the visiting ICC World XI for one last time in the series, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday. Being the decider, the match surely promises to be a thriller as both teams will fight it out to come out on top and emerge victorious. Let us have a look at the key battles we can witness in the match. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs ICC World XI 2017, 3rd T20I at Lahore

Thisara Perera vs his inconsistency: Thisara is known for his explosive batting and tactical bowling. Unfortunately, his poor T20I record with bat is indeed a matter of concern. While his strike rate of 148 is excellent, he averages a mere 14, which shows his tendency to get out early. Thus, more than the Pakistan bowlers, it will be his inconsistency that he needs to conquer.

Tamim Iqbal vs tendency to falter: Although he is considered one of the most dependable openers in world cricket, Tamim has failed to convert his good starts to a big one in this series so far. He has been off to a decent start (he scored 18 and 23) before throwing them away. He must ensure he converts these into big scores. We have seen what he is capable of against the strongest of attack: he simply needs to replicate that in 20-over cricket. Visitors gear up to upset PAK fans on Jumme ke raat

Babar Azam vs Morne Morkel: With 86 and 45, Babar is the leading run-scorer in this series. However, his memorable quest could be just by Morkel, who can certainly give him a tough time. Although he has hardly fired in the two games, managing to claim just a wicket, Morkel s IPL experience can lead him to spoil the party for Babar and other Pakistani batsmen. We certainly have an interesting battle on the cards.

Paul Collingwood vs his age: Although he is yet to bat in this series, it will be interesting to see if Collingwood still has the same old charisma. He did bowl in the second match but went wicketless. Collingwood, 41, played his last international match 2,377 days ago, against Bangladesh in 2011. It will be interesting to see how he manages to fare with bat at this age.

Pakistan vs death overs: Pakistan s death-bowling has been a concern in their past two matches. They pulled it off in the first tie before bowling full-tosses and over-pitched deliveries to gift World XI an easy win in the second. Sarfraz rightly said after the match, This is a learning opportunity for all of us, it will teach the bowlers how to bowl in tough situations to class players like Hash [Hashim Amla] ... You should also have a slower length ball in your kitty apart from the yorkers.