(ESPN Cricinfo) – It was a shortened game at the Gabba, and Australia made short work of it. After persistent rain and lightning delayed the start by nearly three hours and reduced the game to a seven-over shootout, Australia inflicted a crushing 29-run defeat upon Pakistan.
Glenn Maxwell, who struggled in the preceding ODI series, blasted his way through the innings with 43 off 19, before Pakistan slumped to 24 for six in the first four overs before finishing with 64 for nine.
Mohammad Rizwan called correctly at the toss and unsurprisingly put Australia in. But the hosts had a clarity of purpose from the outset, looking to hit a boundary off every ball, aware that wickets didn’t really matter as much. Shaheen Shah Afridi was plundered for 16 off his first over to set the tone, and though Haris Rauf’s tight first over had Maxwell flailing, the tide would turn soon.
Maxwell deployed the reverse slog expertly, using the bowlers’ pace to get his shots away. Afridi was spectacularly dismissed over third man for six before he ripped into Rauf, his ODI tormentor, smashing 19 off his second over. When he holed out to Abbas Afridi, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis picked up the baton, with Stoinis’ 20 off Naseem in the final over seeing Australia surge to 93.
Pakistan began the innings with Sahibzada Farhan biffing two boundaries off the first two balls, but that’s as good as the chase got for the visitors. Spencer Johnson got him two balls later. It began a remarkable passage of play where five wickets fell in 12 balls for eight runs. Mohammad Rizwan sliced Xavier Bartlett to backward point for a duck, and Usman Khan sent one down deep third man’s throat later in the over.
Babar Azam – who came in at number three – miscued a half-volley down to long-off off Nathan Ellis’ first ball, with Irfan Khan joining him two balls later. When Salman Ali Agha, debutant and vice-captain, skied one off Ellis, Pakistan were staring down the barrel of an enormous defeat, despite the heavily curtailed nature of the game.
But Pakistan managed to restore some respectability to the scoreline in the final three overs, primarily when Haseebullah Khan and Abbas managed 18 off the fifth over. Wickets would continue to fall, though, with Ellis snaring Haseebullah for his third wicket. When Adam Zampa came in to bowl the final over, Shaheen managed to smear one over long-on for six, but in an innings characterised by clumps of wickets falling quickly, that Zampa signed off with consecutive wickets of his final two balls was a fitting end.
