Pakistani pacers on Sunday dismantled Australian batting lineup to bowl out the mighty Aussies for meagre 140 runs in the third ODI at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
Invited to bat first by Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Rizwan after the toss, the hosts failed to gain momentum in the first innings courtesy of back-to-back wickets by Pakistani fast bowlers.
With the three-match series levelled at 1-1, the home side got off to a shaky start to their innings as young opener Jake Fraser-McGurk (7) fell victim to Naseem Shah in the fourth over with just 20 runs on the board.
His opening partner Matthew Short, however, put on a notable fight and recorded brief partnerships with Aaron Hardie (12) and skipper Josh Inglis (7) before finally perishing in the 14th over.
The home side coped another blow to their batting expedition as batting all-rounder Cooper Connolly got retired hurt after scoring just seven runs.
Australia then lost two more wickets in quick succession as Glenn Maxwell (0) and Marcus Stoinis (8) departed after making meagre contributions.
The hosts were reeling at 88-6 in 20.3 overs when Adam Zampa joined Sean Abbott for a crucial 30-run partnership, which pushed Australia’s total past the 100-run mark.
Zampa scored a gutsy 13 off 22 deliveries before falling victim to Naseem in the 27th over.
Abbott then forged another important partnership for Australia when he added 22 runs for the eighth wicket with Spencer Johnson, who remained unbeaten with a run-a-ball 12.
Abbott remained the top-scorer for Australia with a fighting 30 off 41 deliveries, hitting two fours and a six in the process.
For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem bagged three wickets each, whereas Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain dismissed two and one batters, respectively.
The Rizwan-led side is eyeing a historical ODI series win on Australian soil, which if they succeed, would come after 22 years.
The two sides have come face to face 110 times in ODIs with the six-time World Cup winners boasting a dominant record with 71 victories, compared to the Men in Green’s 35.
Australia have an equally impressive record at home in ODIs as they won 38 out of 58 fixtures, while Pakistan has secured 18 victories.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.
Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis (capt, wk), Cooper Connolly, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Lance Morris.
