LAHORE: Pakistan clinched a 2-1 series win over Australia in the third and final One-day International at Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday, completing a fourwicket victory with 8.1 overs to spare after restricting the visitors to 157 in a match dominated by spin and variable bounce.
Australia, having won the toss for the first time in the series, opted to bat despite earlier thunderstorms and strong winds sweeping across the ground.
The decisionquicklybackfired as Pakistan’s bowlers delivered a disciplined effort to bowl them out in 42 overs their lowest ODI total in Pakistan. At one stage Australia were cruising at 98 for two, but lost their last eight wickets for just 59 runs as the innings disintegrated.
The innings began disastrously when Matthew Short, promoted to open, was dismissed by Shaheen Shah Afridi for a duck off just two deliveries. Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne then attempted to rebuild, relying on singles and occasional boundaries as Inglis struck early against Shaheen and Arafat Minhas.
Australia reached 41 for one in 10 overs, though the innings wasbriefly interrupted when fielder Maaz Sadagat suffered a head injury while attempting to stop a boundary and left the field for medical attention.
Inglis grew in confidence, bringing up a fluent half-century off 56 balls, and alongside Labuschagne took Australia to 98 for two, seemingly on course for a competitive total. However, the collapse began with Labusehagne’s run-out for 19 following sharp fielding from Haris Rauf and Arafat.
Alex Carey joined Inglis but soon fell to Haris Rauf, whobowled him for 19 with a sharp inswinger. Cameron Green, fresh from a half-century in the previous match, managed only seven before Shaheen returned to turn the game decisively. In a defining spell, Shaheen removed Inglis for 65, caught at mid-off, and then dismissed Green in the same over to leave Australia reeling at 120 for five.
The slide continued as Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan exploited the turning track.
Abrar removed Matt Renshaw for four and bowled Cooper Connolly for three, while wicket-keeperGhazi Ghori produced a sharp diving catch to dismiss Oliver Peake. From there, Australia collapsed to 131 for seven.
The lower order offered little resistance. Adam Zampa was bowled by Shadab for 10 as the ball kept low, while Nathan Ellis was run out for one. Australia were eventually dismissed for 157 in 42 overs. Shaheen finished with 3-30, while Abrar and Shadab claimed two wickets each, and Haris took one. Two Australian batters were also run out.
Pakistan’s chase began briskly but lost rhythm against spin.
Sahibzada Farhan fell for six, while Maaz made 27 before being trapped lbw. Babar Azam anchored the innings with a patient 40 off 84 balls but was dismissed by Matthew Kuhnemann, who also removed Ghazi and Salman Ali Agha to finish with 3-38.
At 112 for six, Pakistan briefly faced pressure before Shadab and Abdul Samad steadied the innings. The pair rotated strike smartly, kept the scoreboard moving and ensured there were no further alarms. Shadab remained unbeaten on 29 and struck the winning boundary off Adam Zampa in the 42nd over, sealing Pakistan’s series triumph in front of a jubilant home crowd.