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On Sunday, November 10, Pakistan defeated Australia in the third ODI by eight wickets, to clinch the three-match series 2-1 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The one-sided win for Pakistan was a collective team effort, which saw their fast bowlers bundle out Australia for 140 runs in just 31.5 overs before the batters chased down the target with 139 balls to spare as the openers batted splendidly well in back-to-back games.
For the unversed, after winning the toss, Mohammad Rizwan, the captain of Pakistan, elected to field first, and his fast bowling quartet were exceptional with the ball right throughout the innings. Only two of the top seven batters from the Australian team got into double figures with Matthew Short (22 off 30) and Aaron Hardie (12 off 13), while Cooper Connolly had to retire hurt after being struck on his finger by Mohammad Hasnain.
In the lower order, Sean Abbott got a valuable 30 off 41 with two fours and a maximum, to ensure that Australia doesn't fold before reaching three-figure total. Ultimately, the hosts were cleaned up under 150 runs after Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah picking up three wickets each, while Haris Rauf took two wickets and Mohammad Hasnain got a wicket to his name as well.
The run chase for Pakistan was quite impressive to say the least as the openers Saim Ayub (42 off 52) and Abdullah Shafique (37 off 53) put together 84-run stand for the first wicket. After their wickets fell in quick succession, the experienced duo of Babar Azam (28* off 30) and Mohammad Rizwan (30* off 27) batted sensibly, to take Pakistan over the finishing line for a famous win by eight wickets.
This was the first ODI series win for Pakistan in Australia in 22 years, built on the back of their fast bowlers and opening batters performing exceptionally well in the last two matches.
