Pakistan made a strong comeback by delivering a composed performance in all three departments, beating Australia by nine wickets in the second ODI at Adelaide Oval on Friday. This victory leveled the three-match ODI series at 1-1.
A strong opening partnership between Saim Ayub (84) and Abdullah Shafique (64) guided Pakistan to a dominant win. After Ayub was dismissed, Babar Azam joined Shafique, scoring 15 runs to help complete the 164-run chase.
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Earlier, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi excelled with the ball, restricting Australia to a modest total. Afridi took early wickets, removing Matthew Short and Jack Fraser-McGurk. Rauf claimed three wickets in quick succession, including Maxwell and Cummins, completing his five-wicket haul. Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain took one wicket each, while only Steve Smith managed to score 35 for Australia.
In the first ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia narrowly defeated Pakistan by two wickets. Chasing 204, Australia reached the target in 33.3 overs, with Pat Cummins playing a crucial role, scoring an unbeaten 32 off 31 balls. Despite Pakistan’s pace quartet sharing seven wickets, they couldn’t prevent the defeat.
During the chase, Australia lost their openers early, but Steve Smith and Josh Inglis stabilized the innings with an 85-run partnership. Haris Rauf’s key wickets shifted the momentum, but Cummins and Starc guided Australia to victory.
Earlier, Pakistan was bowled out for 203 in 46.4 overs. Captain Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 44, adding 39 runs with Babar Azam. The lower order contributed 86 runs, with Naseem scoring 40, Shaheen 24, and debutant Muhammad Irfan Khan 22. Mitchell Starc was Australia’s standout bowler, taking three wickets for 33 runs in 10 overs.
