PERTH: Pakistan secured a dominant eight-wicket victory over Australia in the third ODI here at Optus Stadium on Sunday and registered their first series victory in the country since 2022.
Set to chase a modest 141, Pakistan knocked the winning runs in style as Babar Azam hit Adam Zampa for a six over over long-on.
The touring side achieved the total for the loss of just two wickets and 139 balls to spare.
In-form opening duo of Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub once again gave Pakistan a steady start by racking up 84 runs for the first wicket.
The pair dominated the depleted Australian bowling attack until both fell victim to Lance Morris in an eventful 18th over.
Saim remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a sensible 42 off 52 deliveries, while Abdullah made a 53-ball 37.
The back-to-back blows, however, did not bother the visitors much as experienced batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan partnered strongly to make sure there were no further hiccups in the pursuit.
The established duo stitched a match-winning 58-run partnership and steered their side to their first series victory over Australia at their home ground across formats since 2022.
Babar scored an unbeaeten 28 off 30 deliveries, while Rizwan made 30 not out from 28 balls.
For Australia, Morris picked up two wickets, while the rest went wicketless.
Put into bat first, Australia could only manage 140 before being swept away in the 32nd over.
The home side got off to a shaky start to their innings as young opener Jake Fraser-McGurk (seven) fell victim to Naseem Shah in the fourth over with just 20 runs on the board.
His opening partner Matthew Short, however, put on a notable fight and recorded brief partnerships with Aaron Hardie (12) and Josh Inglis (7) before finally perishing in the 14th over.
Short scored 22 off 30 balls with the help of one boundary.
The home side coped another blow to their batting expedition as batting all-rounder Cooper Connolly got retired hurt after scoring just seven.
Australia then lost two more wickets in quick succession as Glenn Maxwell (0) and Marcus Stoinis (eight) departed after making meagre contributions.
The home side were reeling at 88/6 in 20.3 overs when Adam Zampa joined Sean Abbott for a crucial 30-run partnership, which pushed Australia’s total past the 100-run mark.
Zampa scored a gutsy 13 off 22 deliveries before falling victim to Naseem in the 27th over.
Abbott then forged another important partnership for Australia when he added 22 runs for the eighth wicket with Spencer Johnson, who remained unbeaten with a run-a-ball 12.
Abbott remained the top-scorer for Australia with a fighting 30 off 41 deliveries, hitting two fours and a six in the process.
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah bagged three wickets each, followed by Haris Rauf with two, while Mohammad Hasnain picked one.
For the unversed, the three-match series is levelled at 1-1.