England vs Pakistan 3rd T20I Highlights: Match Abandoned Due To Rain

Right then, as a result of this game being washed out and with only one game remaining in the series, England's 1-0 lead is now unassailable. The caravan now moves to London for the fourth and final T20I at the Kennington Oval on Thursday, the 30th of May. Fingers crossed for better weather on that day. The first ball will be bowled at 11 pm IST (5.30 pm GMT), but as always, our build-up will begin much sooner. See you then. Cheers!

THAT'S IT! THE MATCH HAS BEEN ABANDONED DUE TO RAIN! Handshakes all around as, for the second time in the series, the rain gods have shown no mercy, not even allowing for a shortened game. It is turning out to be a frustrating series for both teams. With neither team scheduled to play warm-up games, this has been far-from-ideal preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup, with two out of the three games being washed out.

UPDATE - 12.19 am IST (6.49 pm GMT, the previous day) - Good news! The rain seems to have subsided, and the ground staff have started the process of removing the water from the covers before the covers can be taken off. Scratch that, the skies have opened up again just as the match officials scheduled an inspection for 12.40 am IST (7.10 pm GMT, the previous day) and we are back to square one. The waiting game continues!

UPDATE - 11.50 pm IST (6.20 pm GMT) - Still no good news as the downpour continues in Cardiff. The cut-off time for a 5-over contest is 1.46 am IST (8.16 pm GMT, the previous day). Stick around for more updates and keep hoping that the rain clears away soon.

UPDATE - 11.26 pm IST (5.56 pm GMT) - The rain is still steady but the reports suggest that the drainage in the ground is well maintained and the groundstaff are working hard to remove the excess water off the covers. However, if the weather doesn't improve soon, we might soon start losing overs. Keep hoping that we get to see some cricket action for this match. Stay tuned for more updates.

UPDATE - 11.02 pm IST (5.32 pm GMT) - Although the rain's intensity seems to have reduced slightly, it is still coming down steadily. We are looking at a shortened game if the weather does not improve soon enough. Fingers crossed for a positive update.

UPDATE - 10.33 pm IST (5.03 pm GMT) - It is still raining and the covers are firmly in place. As a result, the TOSS has been delayed. Stick around for more news.

UPDATE - 10.15 pm IST (4.45 pm GMT) - Uh oh! It is raining steadily at the moment at Sophia Gardens and the covers are on. We are still 45 minutes away from the scheduled start, and let's hope that the rain subsides soon for us to have a prompt start. Stay tuned for further updates.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have been put on the back foot in their last game. This is their chance to balance the scales with a victory. However, they will need to work on a lot of things. Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan will be hunting for some wickets to support the rest of the bowlers. On the batting side, Mohammad Rizwan and Saim Ayub will be expected to give a strong start. Their middle order also looked out of form which also might be a topic for discussion. With the stakes high, will this team be able to level the series? We shall find out soon. Stay with us for the toss and team news.

The hosts, England have taken an early lead in the series. They won their last game in a good fashion and must be elated. Jos Buttler was the pick of the batters and he alone took apart the bowlers from Pakistan. The others failed to make a mark and will have to get back in form, especially with the prestigious T20I World Cup beginning in a few days. Their bowlers too did well with Reece Topley getting three wickets. They worked in tandem and beat the opponents by 23 runs. Buttler will not feature in this game as he is with his family ready to welcome their third child so the other batters will have to step up. They now have the chance to win the series by winning this game.