The final match of Australia’s historic tour of Pakistan has ended with the visitors coming away with a three-wicket T20 victory in Lahore, behind a half-century from skipper Aaron Finch.
Australia won the toss and sent Pakistan in to bat and things were looking up for Pakistan at 0-for-67 in the seventh over before wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed by Cameron Green for 23, who managed the wicket of Fakhar Zaman the very next ball. Iftikhar Ahmed made just 13 off 13 before Nathan Ellis caught an edge which flew through to Josh Inglis behind the stumps. Opener Babar Azam, who has enjoyed a superb run with the bat, reached his half-century off just 33 balls and looked primed to go big before mistiming a chip over cover on 66 off the bowling of Adam Zampa, which Ellis took easily. Khushdil Shah added 24 of his own, whilst number-10 Usman Qadir came up with a quickfire 18 off just six deliveries but another batting collapse prevented a big Pakistani total.
Ellis was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with match-best figures of 4-for-28, whilst Green took a pair of wickets and Zampa and Sean Abbott each got their names in the wickets column. Pakistan finished 8-for-162, a competitive yet underwhelming total for the home side. Babar’s 66 was their highest score, whilst Rizwan and Khushdil were the only other batters to surpass 20.
The Australians went after the Pakistani bowlers from the get-go, with Travis Head and Aaron Finch smashing 33 from the first three overs before Head had to depart for 26 thanks to some sharp work in the outfield. Josh Inglis added a snappy 24 off 15 before falling to the bowling of Qadir, who claimed Marnus Labuschagne for just two his following over. Marcus Stoinis added 23 off just nine before falling in the 11th over, whilst Green added just two runs of his own before being bowled by Mohammad Wasim. Finch was dismissed by Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 18th over for 55, with Ben McDermott’s unbeaten 22 proved invaluable as the Australians surpassed Pakistan’s total in the final over with three wickets to spare.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir, and Mohammad Wasim each claimed a pair of wickets each, whilst Haris Rauf claimed the wicket of Head. Aaron Finch was named Player of the Match in the one-off clash after struggling with his white-ball form in recent times.
The victory wrapped up what was an historic tour of Pakistan for the Australians who, despite an ODI series defeat, would undoubtedly class it as a success. They lifted the inaugural Benaud-Qadir Trophy after 15 gruelling days of Test cricket, as well as getting another T20 win under their belt as they prepare for the T20 World Cup later this year. Head, Labuschagne, and Green were the three players to appear in all seven matches of the tour, each enjoying strong performances at different stages. Australia will play another five Test matches and three T20 matches before October’s T20 World Cup; they will head to India in September for an historic one-off Test match against Afghanistan before contesting the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in a four-Test series against India, followed by a three-match T20 series against India.
