Perth Stadium, Sunday: Pakistan will chase a small target of 141 runs to post their first ODI series win in Australia since 2002. As part of the task for the third and final match of the deadlock series standing at 1-1, Pakistani bowlers did the dream job by reducing a below-strength Australian side to 140 for the loss of nine wickets in 31.5 overs.
Captain Mohammad Rizwan’s gamble to field first proved to be correct as pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi with three for 32 and Naseem Shah with three for 54 complemented each other well while coming in to the attack initially at the hands of Haris Rauf who picked two for 24. Their attacking bowling left Australia reeling from the start of play and gave little respite with wickets tumbling regularly.
Sean Abbott topped the score with 30 runs but had no one to share the limelight with his teammates. Australia, with most of its big stars rested ahead of their Test series against India, rested Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc – all this time, this team relied on a mix of less-experienced players who easily crumpled against Pakistan’s pace.
Australian Struggles and Key Moments:
Openers Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short were pretty quiet after being more composed in Melbourne and Adelaide. Fraser-McGurk went early, caught behind off Naseem Shah for seven. Promoted to number three, Aaron Hardie also didn’t last long, caught at slip off Afridi for 12.
Stand-in captain Josh Inglis could not stabilize the innings when he was cleaned up for seven as he played a false shot to a short-pitched ball from Shah, caught by Rizwan. And Australia’s middle order continues to crumble — Rauf sending back Short (22) and Glenn Maxwell for a duck, which would be his third dismissal of Maxwell in the series.
Injuries: Young bat Cooper Connolly retired hurt on seven after a blow to his hand. Resistance by Abbott and Adam Zampa (13) for 30 runs, but the Pakistan attack cleaned up the tail quickly.
Australia : Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis (c), Cooper Connolly, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Lance Morris.
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c), Kamran Ghulam, Agha Salman, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain
Pakistan now requires 141 runs to win the series.