LAHORE (Kashmir English): Pakistan has earned a four-wicket victory over Australia in the third and final match of the ODI series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Thursday.
The e Australian team, batting first, was bundled out for just 157 runs in 42 overs due to the brilliant performance of Pakistani bowlers.
The national team achieved the desired target in 41.5 overs for the loss of 6 wickets.
The start of Australia’s innings was extremely disappointing when opener Matthew Short fell victim to Shaheen Shah Afridi on the second ball of the match and returned to the pavilion without scoring any runs.
Captain Josh Ingles tried to control the team by playing a resistant innings of 57 runs, but no batsman except him could stay on the wicket for long.
Marnus Labuschagne, 19, and Alex Carey were also dismissed for 19 runs. For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf took 3 wickets each, while Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan took 2 wickets each, rendering the Kangaroos’ batting line helpless.
Pakistan’s start in the chase was not very good as opener Sahibzada Farhan was bowled by Nathan Ellis for just 6 runs, after which Maaz Sadaqat was also dismissed for 27 runs.
Former captain Babar Azam batted responsibly and scored 40 runs, while Ghazi Ghauri scored 8 and Salman Agha scored 15 runs and fell victim to Matthew Conneman, who took 3 wickets.
In this critical situation, Abdul Samad and Shadab Khan adopted a confident approach on the ground and played unbeaten innings of 18 and 29 runs respectively, taking the team to the threshold of victory with 49 balls to spare.
Man of the Match
Pakistan cricket team captain and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was given the man of the match award, who showed brilliant bowling, taking 3 crucial wickets for just 30 runs in eight overs, and played a key role in breaking the back of the Australian batting line.
Pakistan’s young and emerging all-rounder Arafat Minhas was awarded the man of the series for his excellent and balanced performance throughout the series.
