Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, and young talent Ollie Peake rose to the occasion with the bat as Australia managed to level the ODI series against Pakistan on another slow, low, and turning pitch in Lahore overnight.
Australia was sent in to bat again and managed a total of 9-231, which was an improvement on their 200 all out in the first game in Rawalpindi. This score provided enough pressure for Nathan Ellis (4-33) and a group of spinners to restrict Pakistan’s chase effectively.
Short’s part-time off-breaks proved valuable, taking 3-36, while the returning Adam Zampa (1-30), Matt Kuhnemann (1-41), and Tanveer Sangha (1-22) all made crucial breakthroughs.
This match could have easily turned into another instance of Australian struggles against spin, especially after Alex Carey was dismissed on the first ball of the match and when Short and Marnus Labuschagne fell within five runs of each other. At one point, Australia was at 3-51, similar to their 4-68 in the first game.
After a duck in Rawalpindi, where he was beaten on the back foot by a spinning delivery, Green used his height to get forward and cover the stumps, even though left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas (2-27) beat him on multiple occasions.
Inglis scored a smart 51 from 74 balls before being bowled by a ball that didn’t bounce.
Renshaw (43) played a composed innings as the Australians looked to increase the pace in the latter part of the innings. Peake (31 off 32 balls) delivered a well-timed cameo that highlighted why he is considered a promising player on this tour.
With a boundary and a six off the fast-paced Haris Rauf in the final over, Peake ensured that the target would surpass 230. The total resembled a 1990s-style first innings score, given the challenging conditions that are not typical for white-ball players.
“I know the team had some good discussions yesterday about individual methods and how they planned to approach it,” said tour captain Josh Inglis. “It was obviously dependent on the wicket, and it looked very similar to the previous day.
“It was a pretty good total in the end. It would have been nice if someone could have gone on to score a big one, but it was about building partnerships in the middle overs, being patient, and we thought anything over 200 would put us in a good position.
“So, I thought the guys played really well today. There were good contributions across the board and some solid partnerships on the batting front.”
While it might be argued that Ellis, Australia’s only pace bowler, did most of the damage in the successful defense, his skill set is perfectly suited to these kinds of pitches.
He expertly mixes his pace and lengths, with a back-of-the-hand slower ball that is among the best in the world.
“It’s no secret that today’s pitch was low and slow, so you can bring your length back and still hit the top of the stump,” Ellis said. “Being a bit of a shorter bowler allows me to do that in most places anyway.
“But yes, I think we saw the cutters and the slow balls working well today, and the ball started to tail and reverse swing between the 35th and 45th over.”
It was with a slower ball that Ellis got the first breakthrough, prompting Maaz Sadaqat to drag on the first ball, much like Carey. Then, a precise delivery dismissed Pakistan’s key player Babar Azam lbw.
With Kuhnemann, Short, and Zampa consistently keeping the scoring rate low, Pakistan slipped to 6-78. Arafat and Shadab Khan added 50 for the fifth wicket before Ellis returned for another lbw dismissal, setting Australia on the path to victory.
