Pakistan cricket team registered a resounding victory against Australia in the 2nd ODI at Adelaide on 8th November. The Men in Green won the match by 8 wickets and chased down the target of 164 runs in just 26.3 overs. Pakistan’s premier pacer Haris Rauf was the destroyer in chief who took a 5 wicket haul and dented Australia’s batting line up. Haris Rauf was seen bowling to a particular game plan and hardly bowled any freebies.
Pakistani fans would be over the moon as we should not forget that this Australian side has got all of their star players present in it: Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins (skipper), Josh Hazlewood & Mitchell Starc. It won’t be wrong to say that the World Champions have got a brutal reality check up ahead of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in February-March.
Haris Rauf stuns Australian batters
Pakistani skipper Mohammad Rizwan had no hesitation in bowling first at Adelaide Oval as there was some moisture in the surface. Pakistan had an unchanged playing 11 after their heart-breaking defeat in the 1st ODI. Australian openers Matt Short & Jake Fraser-McGurk showed the intent from the start but once again excessive aggressive batting back-fired for both the openers. In the powerplay overs Australia scored 59 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.
Steve Smith & Josh Inglis tried to steady the ship but then came Haris Rauf who intimidated Aussies. Haris Rauf consistently bowled good length deliveries and got rid of Josh Inglis & Marnus Labuschagne in a short span of time. It seemed as if Australian batters were in a hurry to smash boundaries as none of their batters converted their starts which was quite astounding.
Australia were reduced to 101-5 in 20.5 overs. There was a terrific setup for Steve Smith by Mohammad Hasnain in 21st over as before his dismissal he was given not out by on-field umpire when Smith went a bit across but umpire’s call of not out for LBW saved the Australian star batter. Hasnain then next ball bowled a wide short off-stump bouncer which tempted Steve Smith to play an awkward short to point but he gave a catch to wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan and the dangerous looking Smith was dismissed for 35 runs in 48 balls as he had struck 5 fours and 1 six.
All the onus was on Glenn Maxwell to make sure that Australia play the entire quota of 50 overs but he too was outdone by the short ball by Haris Rauf where he wanted to play a pull shot that too on a wide short ball on off side and an inside edge broke the off stump. Australia were in a deep trouble at 129-7 in 27.2 overs and Pakistan were in an ascendancy. Glenn Maxwell scored 16 runs in 21 balls and struck 1 six but couldn’t play out the tricky spell of Haris Rauf.
Pat Cummins & Adam Zampa played some cameos but couldn’t stay at the crease and play out the entire innings as Australia were bundled out for 163 runs in 35 overs. Haris Rauf was quite unplayable; in his spell of 8 overs he conceded 29 runs and took a memorable 5 wicket hual. Pakistan though dropped some catches but they weren’t that expensive. We should not forget that Shaheen Afridi also played a key part by taking a 3 wicket haul and made sure that he doesn’t concede a string of boundaries.
Abdullah Shafique & Saim Ayub’s Heroics Annihilate Australian bowlers
Australia needed quick wickets at the start while defending 163 runs but Abdullah Shafique & Saim Ayub very smartly played out the first 10 overs and scored 47 runs for the loss of no wickets. Both the openers were seen taking calculative risk and was focused on playing positive cricket and rotating the strike rather than playing rash shots.
Pat Cummins, the skipper used all the tricks by placing a similar kind of Test cricket field placements but Pakistani openers didn’t fall into the trap. Mitchell Starc was taken to the cleaners by Saim Ayub as he was dictating the terms post powerplay overs phase. It was a great exhibition of batting by both Saim Ayub & Abdullah Shafique as earlier they took time to get their eye in and then capitalised on their starts.
Saim Ayub somewhat would regret that he missed out on a well deserving century as he got out on 82 runs in 71 balls and struck 5 fours and 6 huge sixes. It seemed as if Australian bowlers weren’t ready for the uphill challenge of defending a target. Abdullah Shafique was unbeaten on 64 runs in 69 balls and struck 4 fours and 3 sixes. Babar Azam scored the winning runs and Pakistan chased down the target of 164 runs in only 26.3 overs which was mind-boggling. Adam Zampa was the only wicket-taker as all the rest bowlers had a forgettable outing.
What Lies Ahead
Australia now will be without Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc & Josh Hazlewood for the decider which is on 10th November at Perth. All these players have been rested ahead of the upcoming high voltage BGT 2024-25 trophy which is about to commence on 22nd November. In the absence of star studded players, it won’t be wrong to say that Australia’s playing 11 might look fragile.
Josh Inglis is set to captain Australia in absence of Pat Cummins. Australia’s batters need to make sure that they not only convert their starts but make sure that they have a huge impact on the match. In the first 2 ODIs; it was quite evident that Australian batters were keen to dominate Pakistani bowlers but that back-fired very badly. Australian fans would be banking on Glenn Maxwell to take responsibility in the middle overs and guide the batters.
Pakistan would sense that they have a magnificent chance of winning the ODI series as it was a near perfect day for the visitors. Mohammad Rizwan so far has shown that he has the leadership qualities and would be hoping to continue the winning momentum in the decider. The interim head coach Jason Gillespie should be given the credit for such a drastic turn-around and a series win could bring back glorious days for Pakistan cricket.
Given the surface at Perth is most likely assisting fast bowlers, Haris Rauf might again be lethal against Australia. It looks unlikely that Pakistan would play a premier spinner in the form of Abrar Ahmed as they have part time spinners present in the form of Saim Ayub & Salman Ali Agha who could play the role of 5th bowler if needed. Pakistan would be well aware of the fact that they can’t get complacent as Aussies have the knack of delivering a knock-out punch but as of now it looks quite improbable to happen.