Pakistan vs England third Test predictions and cricket betting tips: Brook key to series success

It’s all to play for in the third and final Test between Pakistan and England with the series tied at 1-1 as the two sides get set to renew hostilities in Rawalpindi on Thursday (6am, Sky Sports Main Event).

After winning the first Test by an innings and 47 runs, which included a first-innings score of 823, England were beaten in the second Test, on the same pitch, going down by 152 runs against the hosts.

They scored just 291 in their first innings and 144 in the second, struggling to cope with Pakistan’s spinners on a dusty Multan pitch inside four days.

The surface at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is expected to be a spin-friendly surface too and Pakistan are 8/5 to complete a famous series win on some betting sites, with England a best-price of 21/20 and the draw 7/1.

England are looking for a second successive series win in Pakistan after a 3-0 victory two years ago and skipper Ben Stokes has named three spin bowlers for the third Test with Rehan Ahmed joining Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach in a three-pronged spin attack.

The rest of the overs will fall on Gus Atkinson and skipper Stokes, with Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse left out from the side that was beaten in the second Test.

Ahmed made his international debut on the last tour of Pakistan when he was just 18, becoming the youngest man to play Test cricket for England.

He took 5-48 on debut as England won by eight wickets, but he hasn’t played international cricket since the third Test in India in February. On that occasion, he took just three wickets across the two innings as England were beaten by 434 runs.

The last match in Multan saw spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan share all 20 wickets for the home side and Stokes is hoping his spinners can have a similar impact on a ‘raked’ pitch that’s been dried out with patio heaters in the build-up.

If England are to secure the victory, Stokes will need his batters to do a better job adapting to the conditions than they did in the second Test. Harry Brook was one of those who struggled in Multan, managing just nine and 16, but there’s a reason he’s second in the market for top England batter on betting apps for the third Test.

Brook recorded England’s fifth-highest individual score of all time in the first Test with his knock of 317 and he has history of doing well on this track.

The 25-year-old scored 240 in his last match in Rawalpindi, posting 153 in his first innings and 87 in his second. If he can get close to replicating those scores, he should go close in the top England run-scorer market on cricket betting sites.

It’s also worth considering backing both Brook and Joe Root to both score a 50 in the first innings, the odds for which have been boosted to 7/2 with William Hill.

Pakistan vs England third Test prediction: Harry Brook top England run scorer in the first innings – 10/3 BetVictor

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