LAHORE: Pakistan clinched a 2-1 series win over Australia in the third and final One-day International at Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday, completing a four-wicket victory with 8.1 overs to spare after restricting the visitors to 157 in a match dominated by spin and variable bounce.

Australia, having won the toss for the first time in the series, opted to bat despite earlier thunderstorms and strong winds sweeping across the ground.

The decision quickly backfired as Pakistan’s bowlers delivered a disciplined effort to bowl them out in 42 overs — their lowest ODI total in Pakistan. At one stage Australia were cruising at 98 for two, but lost their last eight wickets for just 59 runs as the innings disintegrated.

The innings began disastrously when Matthew Short, promoted to open, was dismissed by Shaheen Shah Afridi for a duck off just two deliveries. Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne then attempted to rebuild, relying on singles and occasional boundaries as Inglis struck early against Shaheen and Arafat Minhas.

Australia reached 41 for one in 10 overs, though the innings was briefly interrupted when fielder Maaz Sadaqat suffered a head injury while attempting to stop a boundary and left the field for medical attention.

Inglis grew in confidence, bringing up a fluent half-century off 56 balls, and alongside Labuschagne took Australia to 98 for two, seemingly on course for a competitive total. However, the collapse began with Labusc­hagne’s run-out for 19 following sharp fielding from Haris Rauf and Arafat.

Alex Carey joined Inglis but soon fell to Haris Rauf, who bowled him for 19 with a sharp in-swinger. Cameron Green, fresh from a half-century in the previous match, managed only seven before Shaheen returned to turn the game decisively. In a defining spell, Shaheen removed Inglis for 65, caught at mid-off, and then dismissed Green in the same over to leave Australia reeling at 120 for five.

The slide continued as Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan exploited the turning track. Abrar removed Matt Renshaw for four and bowled Cooper Connolly for three, while wicket-keeper Ghazi Ghori produced a sharp diving catch to dismiss Oliver Peake. From there, Australia collapsed to 131 for seven.

The lower order offered little resistance. Adam Zampa was bowled by Shadab for 10 as the ball kept low, while Nathan Ellis was run out for one. Australia were eventually dismissed for 157 in 42 overs. Shaheen finished with 3-30, while Abrar and Shadab claimed two wickets each, and Haris took one. Two Australian batters were also run out.

Pakistan’s chase began briskly but lost rhythm against spin. Sahi­bzada Farhan fell for six, while Maaz made 27 before being trap­ped lbw. Babar Azam anchored the innings with a patient 40 off 84 balls but was dismissed by Matthew Kuhnemann, who also removed Ghazi and Salman Ali Agha to finish with 3-38.

At 112 for six, Pakistan briefly faced pressure before Shadab and Abdul Samad steadied the innings. The pair rotated strike smartly, kept the scoreboard moving and ensured there were no further alarms. Shadab remained unbeaten on 29 and struck the winning boundary off Adam Zampa in the 42nd over, sealing Pakistan’s series triumph in front of a jubilant home crowd.

Scoreboard

AUSTRALIA:
M. Short c Farhan b Shaheen 0
J. Inglis c Farhan b Shaheen 65
M. Labuschagne run out 19
A. Carey b Haris 19
C. Green c Babar b Shaheen 7
M. Renshaw c Salman b Abrar 4
C. Connolly b Abrar 3
O. Peake c Ghazi b Shadab 7
M. Kuhnemann not out 9
A. Zampa b Shadab 10
N. Ellis run out (sub) 1

EXTRAS (LB-6, W-7) 13
TOTAL (all out, 42 overs) 157
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Short), 2-46 (Labuschagne), 3-98 (Carey), 4-119 (Inglis), 5-120 (Green), 6-126 (Renshaw), 7-131 (Connolly), 8-137 (Peake), 9-156 (Zampa)
BOWLING: Shaheen 8-1-30-3 (1w), Haris 7-0-33-1 (1w), Abrar 10-2-19-2, Arafat 6-1-27-0, Shadab 9-0-28-2 (1w), Salman 2-0-14-0 (2w)

PAKISTAN:
Sahibzada Farhan b Ellis 6
Maaz Sadaqat lbw b Short 27
Babar Azam b Kuhnemann 40
Ghazi Ghori b Kuhnemann 8
Salman Ali Agha c Inglis b Kuhnemann 15
Arafat Minhas c Green b Renshaw 9
Abdul Samad not out 18
Shadab Khan not out 29

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-5) 9
TOTAL (for six wickets, 41.5 overs) 161
DID NOT BAT: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-27 (Sahibzada), 2-41 (Maaz), 3-60 (Ghazi), 4-93 (Salman), 5-112 (Babar), 6-112 (Arafat)
BOWLING: Ellis 9-1-40-1 (1w), Green 1-0-8-0 (1w), Kuhnemann 10-1-38-3, Short 7-0-23-1, Zampa 9.5-0-38-0 (2w), Renshaw 3-1-6-1, Labuschagne 2-1-4-0

RESULT: Pakistan won by four wickets.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shaheen Shah Afridi
SERIES: Pakistan won the three-match series 2-1.
MAN-OF-THE-SERIES: Arafat Minhas

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2026