Australia sweeps ODI series against Pakistan
Golden chance for a consolation victory was lost because of poor batting at the end.
ABU DHABI: (Web Desk) – Austraila won the toss and gave a target of 232 after choosing to bat first. First wicket of Pakistan fell at the score of 56, and then as it goes.
Pakistani batsman, Sarfarz performed well and his batting was commendable. Pakistani team captain Shahid Afridi made only 6 runs. Umer Amin tried to bring home the victory for Pakistan but failed to do so, at a runrate of 19 only.
Pakistan lost the match from 1 run. Performance by the Pakistani batsmen during the last over of the match was miserable, and this epic failure was largely responsible for the defeat of Pakistan.
Previously: Pakistan needed 232 for a face-saving win, whereas Smith (77) and Warner (56) helped Aussies score 231.
Australia has scored 231 in the allotted 50 overs during the 3rd One-Day International (ODI) of the series. Although Australia has already won the series yet Pakistan may attain a face-saving by pulling out a consolation victory in the third match of this lost cause.
Earlier today, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Finch and Warner gave their side a good start and Smith followed their lead but just after completing 100 runs on the board, Aussies suddenly lost 2 wickets, allowing Pakistan to pull things back a little.
Pakistani bowlers continued to take wickets after regular intervals and Maxwell (20), Hughes (5) and Haddin (2) had all been sent back to the pavilion by the end f 37th over and the Kangaroos eventually found themselves struggling at 159 for the loss of 6 wickets. However, Smith and Faulkner carried on with the fight and an all important 40 runs partnership took Australia to 199 for 7. Faulkner struck 1 boundary and 1 six for his 33 while Smith took 105 balls for his 77 with the help of 3 boundaries before he was bowled out by Sohail Tanvir in the 46th over. Starc was run out for 5 while Faulkner was the last Australian batsman to get out.
Sohail Tanvir got 3 wickets, skipper Shahid Afridi got 2, Anwar Ali and Irfan got 1 each while 2 of the batsmen (Haddin and Starc) were run out.
