Hyderabad: Pakistan secured a series win against Australia by 2-1 in a three-match ODI series under Shaheen Afridi’s leadership. Pakistan defeated the visitors by four wickets in the series decider. Batting first, Australia set a target of just 158 runs for Pakistan. Although it is an easy target in modern-day cricket, it was not the case for Pakistan as their batter struggled to stay at the crease, and it became a close contest. Eventually, the Men in Green held their nerves to win the series decider.Pakistan batters needed 41.5 overs to reach this modest target. Experienced batter Babar Azam played a sluggish knock, scoring only 40 runs from 84 balls, playing with a strike rate below 50. Salman Agha scored 15 runs off 24 balls, while Arafat Minhas managed just 9 runs off 28 balls. At one point, it seemed Pakistan might lose the match, but Abdul Samad and Shadab Khan secured a victory for the team by stitching together a 49-run partnership off 67 balls. Samad remained unbeaten on 18 off 30 balls, while Shadab Khan stayed not out on 29 off 42 balls.During Australia's batting, Josh Inglis scored a half-century in this match, amassing 65 runs off 71 balls with eight fours and a six. Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey scored 19 runs each, while Adam Zampa contributed 10 runs off 23 balls. The remaining Australian batters were dismissed for single-digit scores. Australia lost their last seven wickets for just 38 runs. On the bowling front, Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi claimed the most wickets with three, while Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan took two wickets each.Hosts Pakistan kicked off the series with a win in the first ODI by 5 wickets. Australia staged a remarkable comeback in the second ODI, successfully defending a total of 231 runs to win the match by 41 runs.Arafat Minhas bowled exceptionally well for Pakistan throughout the series, claiming 7 wickets across the three matches. He made his debut in the series opener and created history by taking five wickets. He became the first-ever Pakistani player to take five wickets on his One Day International (ODI) debut. He was awarded the Player of the Series for this outstanding performance.
