SHARJAH: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik is hoping that his bowlers will take early wickets to help them level the series against Australia. The teams will meet in the second One-day International (ODI) of the five-match series on Sunday (today).
A new-look Pakistan side went down by eight wickets in the first ODI on Friday.
Batting first, Pakistan posted 280-5. Left-hander Haris Sohail scored his maiden hundred, while recalled batsman Umar Akmal scored a fiery 48 and Shan Masood made 40 on his ODI debut.
However, the pace attack of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Abbas and Faheem Ashraf failed to give Pakistan early wickets. Aaron Finch scored a brilliant 116, while Shaun Marsh scored 91 not out as Australia chased down the target in 49 overs.
Pakistan have rested their six frontline players, including captain Sarfraz Ahmed, for the one-day series.
Amir’s lack of wickets is a worry for Pakistan and that can bring in 18-year-old pacer Mohammad Hasnain or one of experienced Junaid Khan or Usman Shinwari into the equation.
Stand-in skipper Malik believes 280 was a good total, more so at a slow-paced Sharjah pitch where batting second was challenging.
“Yes, it was a defendable total,” said Malik. “What we must do now is to take early wickets," he said.
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah played in the first ODI but he proved expansive and went for 56 runs in his 10 overs, without taking a wicket.
Pakistan have not won a bilateral series against Australia since 2002.
Australia are likely to rest all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile to bring in Ashton Turner and Pat Cummins for second match.
Finch’s hundred was his first since July last year, while Marsh, dropped from the mid-series in India, has also returned to form.
Finch said it was nice to overhaul the chase for the loss of just two wickets.
“It was just nice to do it two down and do it a bit more clinically than what we have over the last few months, when we’ve been in that situation. They’re sometimes the best innings you'll play as a batsman, when things aren’t going your way.
“It wasn’t an innings where he [Marsh] hit the middle of the bat and it was free flowing from the start. For him to grind out the first 30 or 40 runs to find his rhythm was really important.”
Score Board
Pakistan won toss
Pakistan
Imam-ul-Haq c & b Lyon 17
Shan Masood b Coulter-Nile 40
Haris Sohail not out 101
Umar Akmal c Finch b Coulter-Nile 49
*Shoaib Malik b Maxwell 11
Faheem Ashraf c Stoinis b Maxwell 28
Imad Wasim not out 28
Extras (lb 1, w 5) 6
Total (5 wickets; 50 overs) 280
Did not bat: †Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas
Fall: 1-35, 2-78, 3-176, 4-190, 5-239
Bowling: Richardson 8-1-65-1 (1 w); Coulter-Nile 10-0-61-2 (1 w); Lyon 10-0-38-1; Maxwell 10-0-57-1 (2 w); Zampa 10-0-44-0; Stoinis 2-0-14-0 (1 w)
Australia
Usman Khawaja c Malik b Ashraf 24
*A Finch c Rizwan b Abbas 116
S Marsh not out 91
P Handscomb not out 30
Extras (b 4, lb 8, w 8) 20
Total (2 wickets; 49 overs) 281
Did not bat: P Handscomb, G Maxwell, M Stoinis, †A Carey, N Coulter-Nile, J Richardson, N Lyon, A Zampa
Fall: 1-63, 2-235
Bowling: Amir 9-0-59-0; Abbas 10-0-44-1; Imad 10-1-50-0 (7 w); Ashraf 9-0-50-1 (1 w); Yasir 10-0-56-0; Malik 1-0-10-0
Result: Australia won by 8 wickets
Man of the Match: Aaron Finch (Australia)
Umpires: Michael Gough (England) and Ahsan Raza (Pakistan). TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka). Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)