Haris Rauf continued his redemption arc as he rattled Australia’s middle order to set up a first win for Pakistan Down Under after seven years. Putting Australia to bat first on a good Adelaide track seemed to be a risky proposition. But inspired by Rauf’s fiery spell, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah’s discipline they bundled out the hosts for a paltry 163.
After an attacking start by Aussie openers Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk, Shaheen Afridi removed both the openers inside the first seven overs to help build momentum. However, Steve Smith and Josh Inglis calmed the scenario by providing a steady partnership as the hosts looked set for a good total. Enter Haris Rauf.
Rauf had nearly stolen the game from Australia at MCG a few days back, but they eventually fell short. But he was not to be denied this time. Rauf first dismissed Inglis for 18 and then got Marcus Labuschagne in his second over. With Smith still at the crease, Australia didn’t look in trouble, but Muhammad Hasnain accounted for the former Kangaroos captain in the 21st over, leaving them at 101/5.
With Australia looking for a breather, Muhammad Rizwan brought back Rauf, who then got rid of Aaron Hardie and bowled the dangerous Glenn Maxwell for 16 runs.
Australia had no breathing space as Naseem Shah dismissed Mitchell Starc. With 8 down for 130, Pat Cummins batted steadily, even hitting a six to try to get his team to a defendable total. But yet again, Rauf didn’t allow them to get far getting the Aussie captain caught behind. Shaheen Afridi bowled Adam Zampa to leave Pakistan needing 164 runs to win.
In response, Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique had a watchful start, with both openers taking time to get going. With Cummins and Starc bowling a strict line, they had to wait before runs started to flow, with Ayub scoring just 7 of 20 balls. But once he went on the attack, there was no stopping him.
The 22-year-old first took Cummins for 11 in an over and then left Starc bewildered, hitting a six and two 4s in an over, amassing 15 runs. While Ayub went on the attack, Shafique played the anchor, rotating the strike and keeping the runs coming. Ayub took more risks and soon reached his 50 of 52 balls, his maiden ODI fifty in just his second match in the format.
As Pakistan crossed 100, writing was on the wall for Australia. Ayub eventually departed after miscuing a hit as Zampa got the wicket. But by then, the damage was done. Ayub had scored 82 of 71 balls, hitting 6 sixes and five 4s. His six 6s were the most by a Pakistani in a match in Australia since Saeed Anwar did it almost two decades ago.
After Ayub’s wicket, Shafique brought up his fifty, and only formalties remained which were completed by Babar Azam, as he finished the match in style with a six.
The two teams now head to Perth for the series decider on Sunday.
Sherjeel Malik is the editor at FanHaat with a writing experience in multiple sports. He oversees the editorial and content coverage at FanHaat and writes often around combat sports, football and other marquee sports. A professional highlight of his career was when WWE’s Paul Heyman shared one of his articles on his social media.
Apart from writing, editing and watching sports, he likes to indulge in reading fiction, watching war documentaries and is a fan of Liverpool FC
