Imam, Babar ton up as Pakistan level ODI series against Australia

Centuries courtesy of stars Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam have helped to propel Pakistan to a six-wicket victory over Australia to tie up the ODI series at one-apiece and set up a deciding third game.

Pakistan could not have gotten off to a much better start after winning the toss and sending Australia in to bat, with Australian captain Aaron Finch dismissed third ball of the day without troubling the scorers. Travis Head and Ben McDermott did a fantastic job of steadying the Australian innings, pouring on a 162-run partnership before Head was dismissed by Zahid Mahmood for 89. McDermott went on to reach his maiden ODI century before falling to the bowling of Mohammad Wasim for 104.

A handy 59-run cameo courtesy of Marnus Labuschagne kept the run rate ticking, whilst Marcus Stoinis added 49 of his own. Shaheen Shah Afridi managed to dismiss both Labuschagne and Stoinis as well as Cameron Green and Sean Abbott to finish with match-best figures of 4-for-63, as Australia set Pakistan a healthy target of 349.

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Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq got Pakistan off to a flying start, hitting 118 runs off the first 19 overs before a Marcus Stoinis peach knocked Fakhar over. Fakhar’s dismissal, however, opened the door for a 111-run partnership between Imam and skipper Babar Azam. Imam reached his second hundred in as many innings before Adam Zampa managed to dismiss him for 106 and Babar’s superb form continued as he crossed the hundred mark. Nathan Ellis eventually managed Babar’s wicket, however, the damage was mostly done. Mohammad Rizwan added 23 of his own before Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed got Pakistan home with an over to spare and six wickets in the bank.

A deciding third game will be played tomorrow night again in Lahore. Australia will to be eager to follow up a courageous Test series win with an unlikely ODI series victory, whilst Pakistan will be hoping to put an ultimately disappointing Test series behind them as they prepare for the T20 World Cup later this year. Travis Head, Imam-ul-Haq, and Babar Azam will all have their eyes on Player of the Series honours, before both sides play a one-off T20I in Lahore.