Pakistan vs Australia: Fourth ODI cricket live scores, blog

The series won, Australia will look to build momentum towards the World Cup with another win tonight as they meet Pakistan in the fourth of a five-match series. Join us here at The Roar for a live blog of all the action, starting tonight at 10pm AEDT.

If you ever wanted a feel-good inspirational story of how to come back after an extended period of adversity and consistent failure amidst turmoil and uncertainty, look no further than this rapidly improving Australian cricket team.

After clinching an unassailable 3-0 lead in the third ODI of this truncated bi-lateral series, Australia now looks well-set to becoming a strong contender for the World Cup.

Aaron Finch has been the real standout so far, his back-to-back hundreds in the first two matches followed by a composed 90 in the third game cementing his place as the attacking opener the selectors have backed him to be.

His mercurial rise to form has motivated the rest of his team-mates to level up as well, with aggressive knocks from Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja and Glenn Maxwell allowing the Aussies to secure convincing and comfortable victories at a canter.

Given this fantastic winning momentum of late, it’s hard not to see Australia running with it all the way and completing a whitewash of the series, a result which will do wonders for their confidence and belief going into the World Cup.

Meanwhile Pakistan will be wondering what has not clicked for them in their preparation for the coveted silverware.

Their bowling has been unthreatening and pedestrian, and although collectively their economy rates have not been expensive, playing the containing game when defending mediocre scores is not going to win you many matches regularly.

Pakistan will want to regroup and refocus to find that killer X-factor in both their batting and bowling to challenge the Aussies.

Centurions Haris Sohail and Mohammad Rizwan need to show more aggression from the start, with experienced captain Shoaib Malik leading the middle order to really capitalise on those final overs.

The bowlers are the real concern though, and the likes of Yasir Shah, Junaid Khan and skiddy left arm tweaker Imad Wasim must bank on their experience to find the belief that they can conquer the Aussies on their day.

Prediction
This series has been following a very consistent tempo with Australia controlling much of the beat and rhythm with three emphatic victories so far.

I predict this game will be no different and Australia should get home with minimal fuss, however if the spin duo of Yasir Shah and Imad Wasim get going, they can definitely cause a few headaches and give Pakistan the confidence-booster that they desperately need.

Join us here at The Roar for a live blog of all the action, starting tonight at 10pm AEDT.