Zimbabwe will once again bank on their experienced players.

After posting scores of 120 and 141 in the two T20Is followed by a disappointing 179 in the first ODI, not many expected Zimbabwe to pull themselves up and come up with a cracking all-round performance to level the series. Afghanistan were indeed handed a surprise, not just by the result, but the margin of it.

Not only did Zimbabwe find a way to handle their spinners after getting bulldozed by them on this tour, they were also able to silence a batting lineup that posted 333 in the first ODI, a score the African side managed to replicate in the previous encounter to ironically win by an identical margin.

To prosper in the series, Zimbabwe had to find a quick fix to nullify the threat of Afghanistan spinners. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi were played out and gave away just 36 and 33 runs respectively. What Brendan Taylor and Sikandar Raza did exceptionally well was attack the pacers and the inexperienced Mujeeb Zadran.

Zimbabwe will again bank on their experienced players and hope the likes of Solomon Mire, Malcolm Waller and Ryan Burl can come up with handy contributions.

Zimbabwe's win has not only pushed Afghanistan on the backfoot but would have also made them realise that they can't bank on just one or two players - and especially their spinners. Afghanistan will hope the below-par performance with the bat was just a stutter and not an issue that's going to plague them, especially with the all-important ICC World Cup Qualifiers fast approaching.

For now though, the teams will have the series lead in mind and everything else is set to take a back seat.

When: Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe, 3rd ODI, February 13, 2:30 PM local time, 4 PM IST

Where: Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah

What to expect: After two high scoring contests, the bowlers can expect another tough day with a placid track and short boundary in front of them.

Team news:

Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib had a poor day in the office in the second ODI - giving away 85 runs from his eight overs and then was dismissed for a first-ball duck. However, his value as an allrounder is immense and it's highly unlikely there will be a change in the playing XI that took the field in the second ODI.

Zimbabwe: Buoyed by their win, Zimbabwe should look to continue with the combination that dented Afghanistan.

What they said:

"There has been a lot of questions regarding our batting. As Graeme said, we are a good batting side" - Brendan Taylor.

Teams (from):

Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Javed Ahmadi, Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Nasir Jamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran.

Zimbabwe: Graeme Cremer (c), Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza, Peter Moor, Malcolm Waller, Brian Vitori, Tendai Chisoro, Blessing Muzarabani, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Kyle Jarvis.