Australia vs Pakistan: Hosts humbled in nine-wicket defeat in second ODI to set up Perth decider | Cricket News
Pakistan claimed a stunning nine-wicket win over Australia to level their ODI series and set up a decider in Perth on Sunday.
Australia suffered home humiliation in Adelaide as Pakistan, led by new captain Mohammad Rizwan, skittled their hosts for 163.
Rizwan equalled the record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in an ODI innings with six as the home side were bundled out in 35 overs.
Fast bowler Haris Rauf was Pakistan’s star with the ball, taking a brilliant 5-29, before Saim Ayub scored 82 and Abdullah Shafique 64 not out in the chase.
Ayub hit six sixes and five fours with former skipper Babar Azam eventually clinching victory with a pullled six off Adam Zampa in the 27th over.
Pakistan’s hopes of a series win will be further boosted by Australia resting five of their stars – Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood – for the start of the five-Test series against India from November 22.
Wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis will fill in for Cummins as interim captain for Sunday’s Perth ODI.
How Pakistan pulled off a memorable away triumph
Ayub and Shafique had been criticised for a run of low scores in Test matches, but both blunted the Australian pace attack with a match-winning stand of 137 after Pakistan kept faith with the duo in the 50-over format.
Ayub took his time against Hazlewood and Starc before he grew in confidence and flicked Cummins, Starc and Aaron Hardie for sixes and also smashed Zampa for two maximums.
Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique (left), is congratulated by Babar Azam after scoring a half-century against Australia
The left-hander, who made his ODI debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday, got a reprieve just before reaching a half century when Zampa dropped a sitter at third man, but he offered a tame catch at short third man just when he looked set for a century.
Earlier, Rauf, who nearly pulled off a victory for Pakistan in the first game before they were eventually edged out by two wickets, found the outside edges of the bats consistently by hitting the right lengths.
Australia’s Adam Zampa drops a catch amid the hosts’ failure to deny Pakistan a famous win
Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-26) provided the breakthroughs inside the first powerplay, getting Jake Fraser-McGurk (13) – who hit three crisp boundaries on the off-side in Naseem Shah’s first over – and Matthew Short (19).
Afridi dropped Short at deep fine leg when the ball burst through his hands to the boundary but the left-arm fast bowler made amends when he had Short caught at cover after trapping Fraser-McGurk lbw.
Afridi ended Australia’s below-par innings when Zampa played a full ball back onto his stumps.
Rauf sliced through the middle-order with Smith scoring 35 off 48 balls before he chased a wide ball from Mohammad Hasnain and edged behind to Rizwan.
