Australia clinched victory over Pakistan in the second ODI to level the three-match series 1-1 by defending a modest 232-run target at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.
Set to chase 232, the Green Shirts could muster 190 before getting bowled out in 44 overs despite a valiant half-century by Shadab Khan.
Pakistan got off to a shaky start to the pursuit as they lost both their openers, Maaz Sadaqat (zero) and Sahibzada Farhan (three), inside two overs with just six runs on the board.
Following the early setback, experienced batter Babar Azam showed signs of counterattack by smashing two boundaries but fell victim to Nathan Ellis in the fifth over after making a run-a-ball 16.
Pakistan then suffered two more setbacks in quick succession as Salman Ali Agha and Abdul Samad perished cheaply for seven and two, respectively.
Wicketkeeper batter Ghazi Ghori, who kept the scoreboard ticking singlehandedly during the collapse, was eventually cleaned up by Adam Zampa in the 17th over and walked back after scoring a gritty 37 off 48 deliveries with the help of five fours.
With the scoreboard reading 78/6, Arafat Minhas joined Shadab Khan in the middle, and the all-rounder duo batted sensibly to raise an important 59-run partnership for the seventh wicket, which culminated with the former’s dismissal off Ellis in the 32nd over.
Minhas contributed with a defiant 33 off 43 deliveries with the help of four fours.
Shadab was then involved in a brief 31-run partnership with captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, who could muster 11 before Matthew Short got him caught behind in the 37th over.
The experienced all-rounder then raised a completely one-sided 21-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Haris Rauf, who fell for a 15-ball duck to Nathan Ellis on the final delivery of the 44th over.
Shadab was ultimately removed by Tanveer Sangha on the first delivery of the next over, which rounded up a hard-earned victory for the visitors. He remained the top scorer for Pakistan with 71 off 104 deliveries with the help of three sixes and a four.
Ellis spearheaded Australia’s bowling charge with four wickets for 33 runs in his nine overs, followed by Short with three, while Matthew Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa and Sangha chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s decision to field first paid dividends as the visitors could accumulate 231/9 in their 50 overs despite half-centuries from Josh Inglis and Cameron Green.
Australia got off to a dismal start to their innings as Pakistan captain Shaheen cleaned up their left-handed opener Alex Carey (zero) on the first delivery of the innings.
Carrey’s dismissal on the first delivery of the innings paved the way for fellow wicketkeeper batter and captain Inglis to walk out and bat at No.3.
Inglis launched a decent recovery for Australia as he put together 46 runs for the second wicket with Matthew Short, who made a cautious 15 off 24 deliveries, before falling victim to Abrar Ahmed in the eighth over.
Australia suffered another setback 17 deliveries later as Arafat Minhas dismissed Marnus Labuschagne (five), which brought their total down to 51/3.
Following the back-to-back dismissals, Inglis was joined by Green in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to put together an important 51-run partnership, which saw the former bring up his fifth ODI half-century.
The Australian captain, however, was soon removed by Minhas and walked back after scoring a gritty 51 off 74 deliveries with the help of five fours.
Green, on the other hand, was then involved in another crucial partnership for Australia – a 65-run stand for the sixth wicket with Matt Renshaw – until eventually falling victim to Abrar in the 40th over.
The all-rounder remained the top-scorer for Australia with a 92-ball 53, comprising two sixes and a four.
Short followed suit 21 balls later as he was cleaned up by Haris Rauf after scoring a run-a-ball 43 with the help of three fours. Shaheen inflicted another blow to Australia’s batting expedition in the 47th over by castling Matthew Kuhnemann (five) and struck again in the penultimate over to get rid of Nathan Ellis.
Meanwhile, batting all-rounder Oliver Peake added valuable runs at the backend to Australia’s total with a run-a-ball 31. Skipper Shaheen spearheaded Pakistan’s bowling charge with three wickets for 36 runs in his eight overs, followed by Minhas, Rauf and Abrar with two each.