Pakistan made a long-waited comeback and defeated Australia in the One Day International (ODI) series, marking their first series win in Australia after 22 years.
The captaincy debut of Mohammad Rizwan marks the return of the Green Shirts' glory as the team bagged two dominant wins against the Aussies in a three-match series.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first, and the pacers once again shone and stole the show with their excellent bowling, restricting Australia to just 140 runs in the first inning, leaving the hosts unable to find any momentum.
The target of 140 by Aussies was tremendously covered by the men in green as Babar Azam scored the winning runs for Pakistan with a 50-run partnership with debut captain Mohammad Rizwan. Meanwhile, Abdullah Shafique scored 37 runs, and Saim Ayub, 42.
This was Pakistan’s first series win in Australia in 22 years, following heavy defeats of 5-0 in 2009 and 4-1 in 2016 in their last two visits.
Moreover, Harris Rauf claimed 10 wickets across the three matches and won Man of the Match in the second and third ODI and Man of the Series awards, while Shaheen Afridi took 8 wickets.
In a low-scoring series, a solid opening partnership from Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique guided Pakistan to victory on both occasions.
To note, both teams will now gear up for a three-match T20 series, starting at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 14, 2024.
