RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — England won the toss Thursday and elected to bat against Pakistan in the third and final Test as both teams filled their lineups with spinners for the series decider.

The slow bowlers were expected to dominate after the ground staff used giant industrial fans and even outdoor heaters to prepare a dry wicket in the hope of neutralizing England’s aggressive batting.

The expected slow pitch has encouraged England to include Rehan Ahmed as their third specialist spinner, along with left-arm spinner Jack Leach and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.

“It looks a very good wicket at the moment,” said captain Ben Stokes after England won the first toss in the last eight Test matches. “It’s another challenge that has been presented to us, but we have to wait and see (how the wicket plays).”

Ahmed, who has not played an international match since February, is one of two changes England have made to the side that lost the second Test by 152 runs on a recycled wicket in Multan as Pakistan won its first home Test since 2021 and the score leveled. series 1-1.

Ahmed replaced fast bowler Matthew Potts, while fast bowler Brydon Carse was rested and Gus Atkinson returned after featuring in England’s memorable innings and a 47-run win in the first Test.

Pakistan retained the same playing XI that gave captain Shan Masood his first win after losing six in a row since his elevation to red-ball skipper. Off-spinner Sajid Khan and left-arm spinner Noman Ali claimed all 20 wickets to nullify England batters, and Pakistan also retained leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood, who bowled just six overs in the second Test.

“We have always talked about consistency and we like to support players,” Masood said.

Masood, who had hoped for a spinner-friendly wicket for the series decider, was unsure how the wicket would behave.

“We like to believe that we have to play good cricket,” he said. “The most important thing is to see the situation and react to it… the preparations are a little different (and) until both teams play, we will keep our opinions to ourselves.”

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Setups:

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket