Haris Rauf's aggressive 5-29 and opener Saim Ayub's 82 off 71 helped Pakistan register a thumping nine-wicket victory over Australia in the second ODI played at the Adelaide Oval, thereby levelling the three-match ODI series spectacularly with 23.3 overs remaining.
In this game, the spotlight was on Rauf, whose aggressive pace laid waste to Australia's batting lineup for the second successive game. Playing off the momentum from Melbourne, he here delivered a masterful spree of fast bowling, ending with five wickets to his name in this game.
His dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne was quite sensational — a delivery that straightened off the seam, drawing Labuschagne into an edge for a textbook dismissal. Rauf's spell left the Australian middle order reeling, with four of his five scalps caught by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, who tied the record for most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in an ODI, with six catches.
Australia struggled from the word go, losing from 79-2 to a miserable 163 all out. Steven Smith's 35 was the top score in a batting performance that left the world champions exposed, especially on a pitch that played true later in the day. Though the green covering of grass had initially belied the impression that the pitch would offer value to the new batsmen, Pakistan's run chase later proved that the conditions were hardly as testing as the Australians made them appear.
Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique gave Pakistan a fine platform as they went in pursuit of the modest target. Ayub, who had a slow start, set it up with some brilliant shots. Initially, he was cautious, scoring just seven off 27 balls, but a well-timed square drive off Josh Hazlewood unlocked his innings.
From then on, Ayub was in control of the game as he sent Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc for six into the stands and swept Adam Zampa for six in a thrilling display. His fifty came off 52 balls and was underlined by a thrilling pick-up flick off Starc that fetched six and showed his growing confidence.
Though he chopped short of a century, cutting a catch to third after an impressive opening partnership of 137, Ayub's contributions had assured the game. Shafique, who started as a spectator, later took up the action, hitting Zampa for a six and completing his fifty off 57 balls. Pakistan pattered to win with captain Babar Azam sealing the chase with a pull shot past the mid-wicket for six off Zampa.
Australia's batting woes started early as their experimental opening pair of Jake Fraser-McGurk, who made 13, and Matt Short, who managed 19, could not last the day. Fraser-McGurk was promising as he hit three consecutive boundaries in a flurry of shots, starting with a delightful back-foot cover drive before he was caught lbw attempting a drive by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Short got a lease of life when Shaheen dropped a sitter at deep square leg but soon miffed a cut shot to cover, where Babar Azam held a sharp catch, ending his innings.
Smith gave the Australian innings stability with a brisk 35, off which he pulled the sixth past Mohammad Hasnain. He was fortunate to survive on 14, cutting his way to Ayub at point, the ball bursting through his hands. Ultimately, it was Rauf who fell Smith's wicket, when a bouncer forced a top edge to Rizwan.
Again, it was a flurry of dismissals, where Glenn Maxwell came for 16 as he edged to Rauf off a reverse sweep, after he hit Ayub for a six, and Aaron Hardie edged to Rizwan as he misjudged a fuller delivery.
Naseem Shah finished off the Australia tail with a peach of a delivery to dismiss Starc. Rauf completed his five-wicket haul with a short-pitched delivery that caught the top edge and removed Cummins. At the end of his spell, Rauf had accumulated stunning figures of 8-96 across two games, leaving the Australia batsmen visibly struggling against his pace and precision.
As Pakistan's bowlers stripped Australia of their batting order methodically, the batters of Pakistan left no room for doubt during the chase. Australia, without some of its stars for the Perth decider, ahead of the Test series against India, will rue this Tuesday loss that puts Pakistan well and truly in a good position to cash in on the momentum.
Brief scores:
Australia 163 all out in 35 overs (Steve Smith 35, Matthew Short 19; Haris Rauf 5-29, Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-26) lost to Pakistan 169 for 1 in 26.3 overs (Saim Ayub 82, Abdullah Shafique 64 not out, Adam Zampa 1-44) by nine wickets.
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