Pakistan beat Australia by 4 wickets in ODI series decider
What's the story
Pakistan have clinched their third consecutive ODI series against Australia, winning the final match by four wickets in Lahore. The victory in the 3rd ODI at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, came on a challenging pitch that favored spinners, making run-scoring difficult for both teams. However, Pakistan's batsmen showed grit and patience to chase down Australia's target of 158 with 49 balls remaining.
Batting strategy
Babar anchors chase for Pakistan
Maaz Sadaqat gave Pakistan a quick start with a 26-ball 27, hitting five fours. However, he was trapped in front by Matt Short while trying to paddle-sweep his off-break. The chase was anchored by Babar Azam who scored a gritty 40 off 84 balls with three boundaries. Despite facing challenges from Australia's bowlers, Babar held his ground and played cautiously throughout the innings.
Bowling performance
Kuhnemann's efforts in vain
Australia's left-arm finger spinner, Matt Kuhnemann, troubled Babar with his tossed-up deliveries on a length and sharp turn. He dismissed Ghazi Ghori and Salman Ali Agha to keep Australia in the contest with figures of 3/38. Matt Renshaw also struck for his first ODI wicket when Pakistan was wobbling at 112/6. However, Shadab Khan and Abdul Samad's unbeaten partnership of 49 helped Pakistan cross the finish line successfully.
AUS
Australia folded for a paltry score of 157
Australia lost Matthew Short (0) early on before Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschange added 46 runs for the 2nd wicket. Alex Carey then joined Inglis in the middle and the two put on a 52-run stand. Inglis then added another 21-run stand alongside Cameron Green before perishing to pacer Shaheen Afridi. It was another calculated knock from Inglis' blade as he worked his way through. Pakistan led the way with Afridi as Australia folded for 157.
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Summary of PAK bowlers
Besides Afridi's 3/30, fellow pacer Haris Rauf managed 1/33 from 7 overs. Spinner Abrar Ahmed shone with 2/19 from 10 overs. He clocked 2 maidens. Arafat Minhas bowled six overs and conceded 27 runs. Shadab Khan bowled 9 overs and clocked 2/28. Salman Agha managed 0/14 from 2 overs.
Inglis
Inglis hammers his 6th ODI fifty
Inglis slammed 8 fours and a six, sriking at 91.55. With this knock, he raced to 895 runs at 30.86. He clocked his 6th ODI fifty (100s: 1). As per ESPNcricinfo, Inglis now owns 216 runs from 7 matches against Pakistan at 30.85. He managed his 2nd fifty against Pakistan.
Afridi
Shaheen Afridi rattles Australia with three-fer in 3rd ODI
Afridi, who also shone with the ball in the 2nd ODI, raced to 146 wickets from 77 matches at an average of 24.5. As per ESPNcricinfo, he now owns 28 scalps from 10 matches against Australia at a solid average of 14.75. Meanwhile, Afridi now has 42 wickets from 25 home ODIs at 26.64.
Kuhnemann
Matthew Kuhnemann claims three-fer versus Pakistan in 3rd ODI
Kuhnemann was introduced in the 4th over and he looked decent. In the 13th over, he dismissed Ghazi Ghori, who played a poor shot against a tossed up ball. In the 24th over, he broke Salman Agha's resistance. Babar was his final wicket. In 8 ODI matches, Kuhnemann raced to a total of 13 wickets at an average of 25. He has registered his career-best figures. Notably, this was the bowler's maiden ODI series against Pakistan. He finished with 5 scalps from three matches at 21.6.
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Babar surpasses 800 ODI runs versus Australia
Babar scored a labored 84-ball 40. He now has 6,626 runs from 143 ODIs at 53.43. His strike rate is 86.59. In 16 ODIs versus Australia, Babar has amassed 811 runs at 62.38.