Abu Dhabi: Australia defeated Pakistan in the third ODI of the five-match series by 80 runs to take a 3-0 unassailable lead in the series. As a result of this win, the team has now won six matches in a row. Aaron Finch’s 90-run knock and a sparkling cameo from Glenn Maxwell propelled Australia to 266 for the loss of six wickets, before Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa claimed seven wickets between them to secure the win for the team.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat, but they were off to a bad start as they were reduced to 20 for two having lost both Usman Khawaja (0) and Shaun Marsh (14). Finch got help from Peter Handscomb (47) in the middle as they both stitched together a partnership of 84 runs to stabilise the Aussie innings. The conditions of the pitch were not allowing Finch to be at his fluent best and he was finally dismissed for 90 runs, falling just 10 runs short of becoming the first Australian to make three consecutive ODI hundreds.
But, Maxwell played with freedom striking eight fours and a six in his 55 ball knock of 71 runs before being run out by the keeper. His knock propelled Australia to 266 runs for the loss of six wickets. Pakistan’s reply got off to a disastrous response, as Shaan Masood (2), Haris Sohail (1) and Mohammad Rizwan (0) fell cheaply, reducing the hosts to 16 for the loss of three wickets.
Imam-ul-Haq (46) and Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik (32) stitched together a brief partnership of 59 runs to steady the side, but the team was playing catch up. Both the batsman were dismissed before the score could reach 100. Umar Akmal (36) and Imad Wasim (43) raised the hopes for Pakistan’s comeback as they put up a 53-run stand, but Aussie spinner Zampa dismissed the tailenders in a jiffy, claiming four wickets in ten balls to seal the victory for Australia. Zampa claimed four wickets while Cummins took three wickets.
Australia takes on Pakistan in the fourth ODI of the five-match series on Friday, March 29.