Thanks to Pat Cummins, Australia narrowly escaped defeat in the first ODI. However, this time, they could not be saved. Pakistan comprehensively defeated the Aussies at their home ground. The hosts could not stand up to the destructive bowling of Haris Rauf.
In the three-match series, Pakistan lost the first ODI by 2 wickets. However, on Friday (November 8), Mohammad Rizwan’s team bounced back in the second ODI, defeating Australia by a massive 9 wickets with 23.3 overs to spare.
Winning the toss, Australia batted first at the Adelaide Oval but were bundled out for only 163 runs in 35 overs. This was Australia’s lowest total against Pakistan in ODIs. Haris Rauf took 5 wickets for 29 runs, while Shaheen Afridi claimed 3 wickets for 26 runs.
In response, Pakistan reached their target in 26.3 overs with just 1 wicket down, leveling the series 1-1.
None of Australia’s partnerships lasted long after they opted to bat. The highest partnership was 38 runs between Steve Smith and Josh Inglis for the fourth wicket. Smith scored the highest with 35 runs, Matthew Short made 19 runs, and Josh Inglis added 18 runs.
The opening partnership between Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub effectively pushed Australia out of the match. While Shafique played cautiously, Saim was aggressive. Thanks to his explosive batting, the score reached three figures by the 16th over.
At one point, Ayub seemed poised for a century but had to stop at 82 runs after being caught by Hazlewood off a Zampa delivery. His 71-ball innings included 6 sixes and 5 fours, forming a 137-run opening partnership with Shafique.
After Ayub’s dismissal, Shafique and Babar Azam ensured the victory. Shafique remained unbeaten, scoring 64 runs off 69 balls, while Babar scored 15* runs off 20 balls.
Thus, the final match of the series on Sunday (November 10) in Perth becomes an unofficial final.
