LAHORE: A tense evening at Gaddafi Stadium ended in jubilation for Pakistan as they chased down 158 to beat Australia by four wickets and secure the series in a dramatic decider. After a rain delayed start and a low scoring first innings that saw Australia bowled out for 157 in the 40th over, Pakistan’s chase was far from straightforward; the home side lost early wickets and were pushed into a position where calm heads and late order resolve proved decisive.
When the dust settled, Abdul Samad and Shadab Khan had combined in a composed, unbeaten partnership to steer Pakistan home, and the crowd breathed again go see team green score 161 for six in 41.5 overs.
Australia’s innings began disastrously and never recovered the momentum they had shown earlier in the series. Shaheen Shah Afridi struck early, removing Matthew Short with the second ball of the match, and the visitors never managed to build a substantial platform.
Josh Inglis offered resistance with a fluent 65, his second successive half century, but wickets fell at regular intervals around him. Pakistan’s bowlers were disciplined rather than flamboyant; they exploited the conditions, kept the pressure on and forced errors.
Abrar Ahmed’s tight ten over spell (10–2–19–2) and Shaheen’s incisive new ball bursts (3–30) were the backbone of the attack, while Shadab Khan tidied up the tail with two late strikes. The result was a modest total of 157 all out — a target that looked gettable but demanded patience and application.
Pakistan’s reply began poorly. The openers failed to convert starts, with Sahibzada Farhan departing cheaply to Nathan Ellis and Maaz Sadaqat falling lbw to Matthew Short after a promising cameo. Babar Azam, under pressure to anchor the chase, battled for 40 off 84 balls but was eventually undone by Matt Kuhnemann, leaving Pakistan in a precarious position at 112 for 5. The scoreboard told a story of wickets at regular intervals: 1–27, 2–41, 3–60, 4–93, 5–112. At that stage the match felt like it could swing either way; Australia’s bowlers had the upper hand and the required run rate was managable but the psychological weight of the occasion was heavy.
Abdul Samad and Shadab Khan put on an unbeaten 49 run stand for the seventh wicket, seeing Pakistan through in 41.5 overs.
