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Toss New Zealand chose to bat v Pakistan
In a series that has lurched from results by the narrowest of margins to an innings victory, the decider leaves plenty up in the air. The only certainty was the side winning the toss in Abu Dhabi would bat first, and New Zealand did exactly that. Looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance in Dubai, Kane Williamson’s side made two changes: Tim Southee was preferred to Neil Wagner, while 34-year-old offspinner Will Somerville made his Test debut, replacing Ish Sodhi in the XI.
Pakistan, looking to win their first series against New Zealand in the UAE, made just one forced change to their side, handing a debut to 18-year old Shaheen Afridi in place of the injured Mohammad Abbas. Shaheen became the 35th player under the age of 19 to debut for Pakistan, the most for any Test side.
The series is locked at 1-1 after Pakistan bounced back from a four-run defeat in Abu Dhabi to thrash New Zealand by an innings and 16 runs in Dubai.
Pakistan: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Bilal Asif, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Shaheen Afridi
New Zealand: 1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 BJ Watling (wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Ajaz Patel, 11 Will Somerville
Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000
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