Rauf, Ayub hand Pakistan first ODI win in Australia since 2017

Pakistan delivered a dominant performance, scoring 169 for 1 (Ayub 82, Shafique 64*, Zampa 1-44) to beat Australia, who were bowled out for 163 (Smith 35, Rauf 5-29, Afridi 3-26), by nine wickets. Haris Rauf ripped through Australia’s middle order for a second consecutive game, and this time his efforts paid off, with Saim Ayub’s brilliant innings propelling Pakistan to a series-leveling victory at the Adelaide Oval with 23.3 overs to spare.

This was a resounding defeat for the ODI World Champions. After his impressive spell in Melbourne, Rauf dismantled Australia’s batting lineup, with his delivery to remove Marnus Labuschagne standing out as a highlight. Rauf ended with his second five-wicket haul in ODIs. During the chase, Ayub and Abdullah Shafique started cautiously, but Ayub soon unleashed a flurry of shots, including a stunning flick off Mitchell Starc that cleared the stands.

Ayub initially struggled, making just 7 off 27 balls before a square drive off Josh Hazlewood got him going. He then sent Pat Cummins and Starc over the boundary and played a powerful slog-sweep off Adam Zampa. After a lifeline on 47 due to a missed catch by Zampa, Ayub reached his fifty in 52 balls. Although he fell short of a maiden century, slicing to short third after setting up an explosive opening stand of 137, Pakistan was already on the brink of victory, with 141 balls remaining – Australia’s second-largest ODI home defeat by balls remaining.

The win was capped off when Babar Azam sealed it with a six off Zampa. This sets up a series decider in Perth, where Australia, captained by Josh Inglis for the first time, will field a team without Test players, who are preparing for the upcoming series against India.

Steven Smith top-scored for Australia with 35 runs in what was a disappointing batting effort on a pitch with a good grass covering but no real demons. Pakistan’s later chase made it evident that Australia’s collapse from 79 for 2 to 163 all out was unnecessary. Rauf’s pace continued to unsettle the Australian batters, and his two-match haul was a remarkable 17-0-96-8. Captain Mohammad Rizwan, with four catches, equaled the record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in an ODI, though he narrowly missed setting a standalone record with a late drop.

With a small target to chase, Pakistan faced no run-rate pressure. Ayub and Shafique played sensibly against the new ball, which moved around, assisted by five wides off Starc and overthrows from Jake Fraser-McGurk’s missed run-out attempt on Shafique. As Ayub accelerated, Shafique joined the scoring spree with a swept six off Zampa and a pull shot against Hazlewood to reach his fifty in 57 balls.

Australia’s top four batters in ODIs struggled to respond to Pakistan’s disciplined bowling. After opting to bat first, Australia’s experimental opening pair, Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short, failed to impress, both dismissed within seven overs. Fraser-McGurk initially showed promise with three early boundaries, including a back-foot cover drive, but he was trapped lbw by Shaheen Shah Afridi. Short, dropped once on 8, didn’t last much longer, as Shaheen redeemed himself with a catch off a Short cut shot.

Australia maintained an aggressive tempo initially, with Smith looking in fine form, highlighted by a six off Mohammad Hasnain. However, he was fortunate to survive on 14 after a misfield by Ayub off Rauf. Rauf soon dismissed Josh Inglis with a glove on a leg-side pull, and his delivery to Labuschagne was outstanding, straightening off the off stump to force an edge to Rizwan.

Aaron Hardie also edged one to Rizwan off Rauf, and Australia’s last frontline batter, Glenn Maxwell, fell after one reverse-swept six off Ayub, dragging an attempted pull onto his stumps. Hasnain then took the key wicket of Smith, who had shuffled across his crease and narrowly escaped lbw the previous ball. Smith ultimately top-edged a wide delivery while attempting to cut, and Naseem Shah dismissed Starc by finding his edge. Rauf wrapped up his five-wicket haul with a top edge from Cummins, sealing Australia’s collapse.