Pak vs Aus: Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub star as Green Shirts beat hosts by 9 wickets in 2nd ODI, level series 1-1 – Sports

On By Littum

Haris Rauf and Saim Ayub were the major contributors as Pakistan defeated Australia by nine wickets in the second ODI played at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.

With little pressure thanks to the modest 164-run target to chase, Pakistan openers Ayub and Abdullah Shafique were alert in the opening exchanges, with only one boundary coming off the bat in the first seven overs.

But once they got going, the races flowed, with the young Saim the far more aggressive of the two. He took his chances, which paid off more often than not as the left-hander brought up his half-century at the end of the 15th over.

Ayub eventually finished with 82 off 71 balls with five boundaries and six maximums. He missed out on his maiden ODI ton when Adam Zampa had him caught in the 21st over.

Shafique, the other opener who was happy to take a back seat as Ayub had his way with the Aussie bowlers, finished with an unbeaten 64 off 69 deliveries.

Babar Azam also contributed 15 and hit the winning six.

Rauf proves too hot to handle for Australian batsmen

Earlier, fast bowler Haris Rauf grabbed a five-for and was the pick of the Pakistan pacers, who bowled out Australia for just 163 runs in just 35 overs.

The Rawalpindi-born pacer who had picked up three wickets in the Also, the 1st ODI defeat was again at his devastating best as he tore through the Australian middle order after the hosts were invited to bat first by toss-winner Mohammad Rizwan.

Rauf’s demolition job was facilitated by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had removed both Australian openers, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short, in his opening form with the new ball.

In the end, Rauf finished with 5 wickets, Afridi with three, while Shah and Mohammad Hasnain grabbed a scalp each.

It was only the second five-wicket ODI haul of Rauf’s career and he was named player of the match for his feat.

For Australia, Steven Smith top scored with 35. A number of their batters got into double figures but failed to stay on the field for long.

The opening ODI on Monday saw Pakistan narrowly lose in what was a low-scoring encounter.

Before today’s win, Pakistan had not won an ODI in Australia since January 2017 when then captain Mohammad Hafeez had inspired the team to a rare victory.