AUSRALIA INNINGS
Afridi-led Pakistan have restricted Australia to 231-9 despite half centuries from Warner (56) and Smith (77).
They were got a solid start after opting to bat first and were perfectly placed to up the tempo of the innings at 138-3 in the 30th over.
But Pakistan clawed back to put the brakes through spinners Babar and Afridi in particular.
Tanvir was the most successful bowler claiming three for 40 while Ali also gave good support to contain Australia.
Richardson picks up a boundary off the final ball of the innings but Australia have been restricted to 231-9.
ANOTHER CATCH! Faulkner smashed Irfan for a six in the previous but could not clear the fence this time. Aus 221-9 in 49.1 overs.
James Faulkner c Umar Amin b Sohail Tanvir 33 (42b 1x4 1x6)
RUN OUT! Irfan strikes with a direct hit on his follow through to dismiss Starc. Aus 220-8 in 48.5 overs.
Mitchell Starc run out 5 (7b 0x4 0x6)
Afridi finishes with superb figures of 10-1-44-2. Aus 211-7 in 48 overs.
OUT! Tanvir strikes knocking the stumps of Smith who departs after a laboured half century. Aus 199-7 in 45.4 overs.
Steven Smith b Sohail Tanvir 77 (105b 3x4 0x6)
Babar also completes an excellent spell with figures of 10-0-42-1. Aus 184-6 in 44 overs.
Anwar Ali completes a wonderful spell returning figures of 10-0-41-1.
Smith hits the first boundary in 82 balls easing to the fine leg as Ali strays on the leg side. Aus 177-6 in 42 overs.
It remains to be seen how much Australia can get in the last 10 over to set Pakistan a decent target on a batting strip.
The boundaries have dried up as Pakistan have clawed their way back with Australia scoring only nine runs for the loss of two wickets in the Batting Powerplay. Aus 165-6 in 40 overs.
RUN OUT! Haddin is caught napping by a direct hit. Aus 159-6 in 36.5 overs.
Brad Haddin run out 2 (6b 0x4 0x6)
OUT! Tanvir traps Hughes leg before with Australia being unsuccessful with the review. Aus 157-5 in 35.3 overs.
Phil Hughes lbw b Sohail Tanvir 5 (14b 0x4 0x6)
Australia will be looking to step up the ante as the Batting Powerplay begins. Aus 156-4 in 35 overs.
Smith completes a sedate half century, only his second, using his feet to pick up a single off Babar. Aus 150-4 in 33 overs.
GREAT CATCH! Amin takes a superb catch as Maxwell attempts to swing Afridi into the crowd. Aus 138-4 in 29.4 overs.
Glenn Maxwell c Umar Amin b Shahid Afridi 20 (22b 1x4 0x6)
Maxwell hits the first boundary in 62 balls with a pick-up shot off Afridi which almost clears the ropes. Aus 131-3 in 28 overs.
It's evenly poised at the halfway stage of the Australia innings with Pakistan clawing their way back. Aus 112-3 in 25 overs.
DOUBLE BLOW! Australia are reeling just a little as Bailey slices Irfan to point. Aus 103-3 in 22.2 overs.
George Bailey c Ahmed Shehzad b Mohammad Irfan 0 (3b 0x4 0x6)
OUT! Afridi has struck with his golden arm in his second over as Warner chips a return catch. Aus 102-2 in 21.4 overs.
David Warner c and b Shahid Afridi 56 (63b 6x4 1x6)
The 50 partnership between Warner and Smith has comein 59 balls. Aus 100-1 in 21 overs.
Afridi replaces Babar after a spell of 5-0-28-0. Aus 97-1 in 20 overs.
FIFTY! Warner launches Babar into orbit to reach his half century in style for the first maximum of the match. Aus 86-1 in 18 overs.
Warner survives a run out attempt scrambling for a single with Alam being just wide with the throw. Aus 78-1 in 17 overs.
Warner comes down the track and slams Babar through the covers to break the shackles. Aus 74-1 in 16 overs.
Australia have been pegged back somewhat with the last five overs producing 20 runs. Aus 68-1 in 15 overs.
BOUNDARIES! Smith gets going by whipping Babar for a couple of boundaries. Aus 61-1 in 12 overs.
OUT! Ali draws first blood as Finch is deceived by a slower ball and chips to Irfan at mid-on. Aus 48-1 in 10.3 overs.
Aaron Finch c Mohammad Irfan b Anwar Ali 18 (34b 3x4 0x6)
Australia are off to a solid start on a fast-paced outfield. Aus 48-0 in 10 overs.
Warner drives Ali through the covers for a delightful boundary. Aus 47-0 in 9 overs.
Anwar Ali replaces Irfan after an opening spell of 4-0-28-0.
BIZARRE! Misbah comes on a substitute for Tanvir while Pakistan make their first bowling change.
MAIDEN! Tanvir bowls a maiden to Warner which is appreciated by regular captain Misbah who is sitting in the dug out. Au 40-0 in 8 overs.
Warner is on a roll punching Irfan throught the covers and flicking to square leg for consecutive boundaries. Aus 40-0 in 7 overs.
Finch cracks Tanvir through midwicket for another boundary. Aus 29-0 in 6 overs.
Shehzad displays great commitment with a sliding effort but fails to prevent a boundary after Warner finds the gap on the off. Aus 25-0 in 5 overs.
Finch drives Irfan beautifully through the covers for another boundary. Aus 18-0 in 3 overs.
Warner gets his first boundary by clipping Tanvir through midwicket, Aus 11-0 in 2 overs.
Australia off to a good start as Irfan tosses the first ball which is despatched to the fence by Finch. Aus 6-0 in 1 over.
Misbah-ul-Haq's 88 consecutive ODIs sequence and 75 consecutive ODIs as captain - both came to an end.
PLAYING XI
Pakistan: Ahmad Shahzad, Sarfaraz, Asad, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Amin, Fawad, Shahid Afridi (captain), Anwar Ali, Sohail Tanvir, Zulfiqar Babar, M Irfan.
Australia: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Phil Hughes, Steven Smith, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Xavier Doherty
Australia have made two changes. Johnson is out and Starc is in while Phil Hughes is in for Nathan Lyon.
Pakistan drop Umar Akmal, Misbah ul Haq and Raza Hasan while Riaz is injured.
Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Anwar Ali and Sohail Tanvir are the replacements for Pakistan.
Australia has won the toss and opted to bat first after Afridi failed to win the toss.
Pakistan cricket was plunged into turmoil once again with unconfirmed reports saying veteran batsman Misbah ul Haq has agreed to stand down as captain for the third and final one-day international at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Dashing all-rounder and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi is expected to lead in his absence in the dead rubber.
Australia won the first one-dayer in Sharjah by 93 runs on Tuesday and then took an unbeatable 2-0 lead by winning the second match in Dubai on Friday by five wickets.
Pakistan has been hit by injury to Wahab Riaz adding to their woes but the reason for Misbah opting to skip the final ODI is not injury.
Some reports suggested Misbah was upset and disheartened by chants of 'Go Misbah, Go' after Pakistan spectacularly imploded after being 126-0 in Dubai.
Pakistan team manager and chief selector Moin Khan said they had yet to accept Misbah's offer to rest for the third one-dayer.
However, former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad sprung to the defence of Misbah and slammed the commitment of players including Afridi.
“Let’s be clear that Misbah-ul-Haq is not the problem in the current situation. You have so called stars who are able to play well in one game and then flop in the next three games. Then you have Shahid Afridi who has been around forever and who is still trying to hit every ball for six without planning when every team knows that he has a weakness against the short ball," he said in an exclusive interview with Pakistan cricket website PakPassion.net.
“Misbah should not be criticized and blamed for losses due to his own form. He is there to lead and his leadership is more important on the field than runs, although his personal form is allowing his critics to heap pressure on him which is not helping his situation,” he said.
Lambasting the selectors for the ommission of the experienced Younis Khan, Miandad said: "A player like Younis Khan who can save 30 runs on the field and then score just 10 runs is worth more than one who scores 30 runs but gives away 100 runs in the field.
“Our issue is that the selectors and team management have no idea of how to select a squad for the World Cup. I played six World Cups so I feel I know a little more than some of the people entrusted with making these decisions.”
JOHNSON
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson wants to complete a cleansweep over Pakistan to recapture the world's top ranking and provide a tonic ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
"We want to win 3-0 and that is our goal now," said Johnson.
"We have won the series and we want to keep going, keep playing good cricket because we`ve got the World Cup coming next year and so we have to stay at our best."
Australia can also regain the world number one ranking if they win the final game, overtaking South Africa who had briefly displaced India.
Australia have now claimed four consecutive one-day series wins over Pakistan, winning 3-2 in United Arab Emirates in 2009, 5-0 in Australia a year later and 2-1 in UAE in 2012.
Pakistan`s last series win over Australia was in 2002.
"It will be very important to win the last game and it will give us confidence before the Test matches," said under-fire Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq of the two-Test series which follows the one-dayers.
"But our batsmen need to show more responsibility. We have to improve our batting before next year's World Cup, otherwise it will mean trouble."
Injury-hit Pakistan will be without paceman Wahab Riaz who suffered a knee injury in the second game.
His place will go to another left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir, a replacement for injured fast bowler Junaid Khan.
"Riaz is out of the third match because of a knee injury," team manager Moin Khan told AFP.
"He had an MRI. The report will be available on Sunday, after which we will decide about his selection in the Test squad."
Pakistan also lost all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez for the Twenty20 and ODIs while they are without key off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, suspended because of an illegal bowling action.
Teams (from):
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Sami Aslam, Umar Amin, Asad Shafiq, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Raza Hasan, Mohammad Irfan, Anwar Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Sohail Tanvir.
Australia: George Bailey (capt), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Phil Hughes, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Johnson, Kane Richardson, Xavier Doherty, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.
Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Ahsan Raza (PAK)