Australia vs Pakistan: Hosts humbled in nine-wicket defeat in second ODI to set up Perth decider
Pakistan secured an impressive nine-wicket victory against Australia, tying their One Day International series and setting up a decisive match in Perth on Sunday.
Australia faced a disappointing defeat at home in Adelaide, where Pakistan, under the leadership of their new captain Mohammad Rizwan, dismissed the Australian team for just 163 runs.
Rizwan matched the record for the highest number of dismissals by a wicketkeeper in a single ODI innings, achieving six dismissals while the home team was all out in just 35 overs.
Haris Rauf shone for Pakistan with his outstanding bowling performance, claiming 5 wickets for just 29 runs. Meanwhile, in the batting department, Saim Ayub contributed 82 runs, while Abdullah Shafique remained unbeaten with 64 as they successfully pursued the target.
Ayub smashed six sixes and five fours, while former captain Babar Azam sealed the win by hitting a pulled six off Adam Zampa in the 27th over.
Pakistan's chances of winning the series are looking even brighter, as Australia has decided to rest five of their key players—Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood—at the beginning of their five-Test series against India, which kicks off on November 22.
Wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis will step in as temporary captain for the Perth ODI on Sunday, taking over from Cummins.
Pakistan's Historic Away Victory Explained
Ayub and Shafique faced criticism due to a series of low scores in Test matches, but they silenced their doubters by forming a crucial partnership of 137 runs against the Australian fast bowlers. Pakistan continued to trust in this pairing in the one-day format, and it paid off.
Ayub was initially cautious while facing Hazlewood and Starc, but as his confidence increased, he began hitting Cummins, Starc, and Aaron Hardie for sixes. He also took on Zampa, sending two of his deliveries over the boundary for maximum runs.
The left-handed batsman, who played his first ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday, was given a second chance just before he reached fifty when Zampa mishandled an easy catch at third man. However, he ended up giving a simple catch to short third man right when he seemed on track for a century.
Previously, Rauf came close to securing a win for Pakistan in their opening match, though they ultimately lost by just two wickets. He consistently found the edges of the batsmen’s bats by bowling at the right lengths.
Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-26) made a significant impact during the initial powerplay by taking key wickets. He dismissed Jake Fraser-McGurk (13), who had previously struck three sharp boundaries on the off-side during Naseem Shah's opening over, along with Matthew Short (19).
Afridi let a catch slip from his grasp at deep fine leg when the ball slipped through his fingers and rolled to the boundary. However, he redeemed himself by having Short caught at cover after successfully dismissing Fraser-McGurk lbw.
Afridi brought Australia's subpar innings to a close by having Zampa knock a full delivery right onto his wickets.
Rauf made quick work of the middle order, with Smith managing to score 35 runs off 48 deliveries. However, he went after a wide delivery from Mohammad Hasnain and ended up nicking it to Rizwan, who caught the ball behind the stumps.
