The Pakistan pace battery rattled Australia for the third successive time in the series. Australia faltered once again with the bat and Pakistan won their first bilateral ODI series in Australia after 22 years.
After eking out a two-wicket win in the first ODI, Australia’s batters crumbled twice in two innings while batting first. They were bowled out for 163 in the second ODI and the Pakistan fast bowlers knocked the Aussies over for 140 in the third and final game. The top four Pakistan batters wiped off the chase with ease.
After opting to bowl first, Pakistan had a wayward start in the first two overs. They conceded 18 runs before Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah hit their straps. The latter was the one who gave Pakistan their first breakthrough as he had Jake Fraser-McGurk caught behind. Shaheen then accounted for Aaron Hardie who made a good start and struck a couple of boundaries.
Despite the two wickets, Australia were placed decently at 54/2 at the end of the powerplay. Naseem got the important scalp of stand-in captain Josh Inglis before Haris Rauf continued his excellent form as he dismissed Matthew Short.
Cooper Connolly was struck on the hand in the 17th over and he walked off the field. Rauf then got rid of Glenn Maxwell for the third time in the series. Marcus Stoinis didn’t last long either as Mohammad Hasnain had him caught behind. At 88/6, Australia were starring down the barrel.
Sean Abbot contributed with 30 while the likes of Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson struck a few boundaries. That pushed Australia’s score to 140 before they were bowled out. Connolly did not bat again as he was taken for scans. Shaheen finished with three, and so did Naseem. Rauf picked up a couple while Hasnain took one.
Pakistan wrap up the chase in 26.5 overs
Chasing a meagre score, the Pakistan openers once again started well. They added 22 runs in the first six overs before Saim Ayub started getting boundaries regularly. Abdullah Shafique also got a couple of hits away before he was dropped by Zampa at fine leg.
The 84-run stand was broken by Lance Morris who dismissed both openers. The 26-year-old tall fast bowler had Shafique caught and bowled before he knocked over Ayub. Those were the only wickets Australia got.
Babar Azam and captain Mohammad Rizwan ensured Pakistan knock off the chase without any more hiccups. Rizwan raced to 30 off 27 balls while Babar looked solid in his knock of 28. Both batters remained unbeaten as they shared a 58-run stand to wrap up the chase with 23.1 overs to spare.
Australia who had a depleted side with at least six of their first-choice players missing were no match to Pakistan. Haris Rauf was the player of the match and the player of the series.
BRIEF SCORES: Australia 140 (Sean Abbott 30, Matthew Short 22, Shaheen Shah Afridi 3/32, Naseem Shah 3/54, Haris Rauf 2/24) lost to Pakistan 143/2 (Saim Ayub 42, Abdullah Shafique 37, Mohammad Rizwan 30*, Lance Morris 2/24) by 8 wickets.
