Rauf takes fifer, Ayub hammers 82 as Pak crush Oz by 9 wkts

“The most important thing is the team won,” said Ayub. “We planned to be positive and not to think about the result but the most important thing is how we play as a team”

Saim Ayub slammed a swashbuckling 82 and Abdullah Shafique an unbeaten 64 as Pakistan demolished Australia by nine wickets to level their one-day series on Friday at the Adelaide Oval. 

Replying to the hosts’ modest 163 all out, thanks to pace spearhead Haris Rauf’s 5-29, Pakistan reached 169-1 with a huge 141 balls to spare. It set up a series decider on Sunday at Perth Stadium after Australia won a tense first match in Melbourne by two wickets. 

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Saim Ayub

Openers Ayub and Shafique started the chase slowly, pinned down by Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, with just 47 coming from the first 10 overs. But they began swinging the bat after that with Ayub smacking a big six from Cummins then crunching another off Mitchell Starc. The 22-year-old was dropped by Adam Zampa on 47 and capitalised by bringing up his maiden ODI half-century in only his second match, with Shafique joining the fun with some giant sixes of his own. 

“The most important thing is the team won,” said Ayub. “We planned to be positive and not to think about the result but the most important thing is how we play as a team.”

Brief scores
Australia 163 all out in 35 overs (S Smith 35; H Rauf 5-29, S Afridi 3-26) lost to Pakistan 169-1 in 26.3 overs (S Ayub 82, A Shafique 64*) by nine wickets

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