Pakistan thoroughly punished Australia for resting their top players in the one-day international series decider at Perth Stadium on Sunday, cruising to an eight-wicket win in the third and final game after a sublime display of seam bowling.
Securing their first ODI series victory in Australia since 2002, an unchanged Pakistan restricted the hosts to 140 from 31.5 overs before mowing down the total by scoring 143-2 in 26.5 overs.
“It was a great feeling for us as a country, as a nation,” said fast bowler Shaheen Afridi. “Everyone is so excited.”
Underscoring the diminished standing of the 50-over format, Australia chose to rest their red-ball players for the decider as preparations ramp up for a blockbuster five-test series against India beginning on Nov. 22.
The tourists, who suffered a narrow loss in the opener before bouncing back with a nine-wicket thumping on Friday, won the toss and elected to field.
Shaheen and fellow quick Naseem Shah led the way, picking up three wickets apiece during a showcase of swing and pace, which accounted for Jake Fraser-McGurk (seven) and Aaron Hardie (12) in the first powerplay.
Josh Inglis, in his captaincy debut, departed for seven after skying Naseem to keeper Mohammad Rizwan in the 11th over, and opener Matt Short (22) soon followed, caught at square-leg attempting to pull pacer Haris Rauf (2-24), who was named man-of-the-series for his 10 wickets overall.
It went from bad to worse for the hosts when 21-year-old Cooper Connolly was forced to retire hurt on seven with a suspected fracture to his left hand after copping a nasty blow from seamer Mohammad Hasnain.
A jubilant Rauf then found the edge of Glenn Maxwell on zero, leaving Australia reeling at 79-5.
No spin was used as the Pakistan seamers maintained the pressure and mopped up the tail. Sean Abbott top-scored with 30.
In reply, Saim Ayub (42) and Abdullah Shafique (37), fresh off half-centuries, played with fluency and controlled aggression during an 84-run opening stand.
Local speedster Lance Morris (2-24) sent both set batsmen packing in the 18th over to give the crowd of 19,781 something to cheer about, leaving Rizwan (30 not out) and Babar Azam (28 not out) to seal the result.
“Our whole batting lineup really didn’t get going at all throughout the series,” Inglis told reporters.
Pakistan round out their tour Down Under with three Twenty20 internationals starting in Brisbane on Thursday.
