Trial by spin boomerangs back to Pakistan as Australia win the second ODI

Australia were the happy side leaving Gaddafi Stadium last night as they not only defeated Pakistan to avoid a series loss but also figured out a way to give the hosts a taste of their own medicine. Australian spinners took Pakistan batters by surprise, using the spin-friendly surface to their advantage despite the dew.

Pakistan bowlers make life hell for Australia

Winning the toss, Pakistan followed the blueprint from the last game as they opted to field first. The choice seemed right as they were once again on top of Australian batters, who still had not recovered from the onslaught from the last game. 

Alex Carey lost his wicket on the first ball of the innings and was followed by Matthew Short soon after. Things went further south when Marnus Labuschagne decided to play a nonsensical shot off red-hot Arafat Minhas on his way out.

There was a halt in Australia's suffering from there as captain Josh Inglis resisted by stitching a partnership with Cameron Green. One could argue that Green was all the difference between Australia's performance in both ODIs so far. 

Two fifty-plus partnerships between Inglis and Green, and Green and Renshaw, brought Australia back on track. Australia scored 80+ runs in 13 overs without the fall of even a single wicket.

The next phase was dominated by Pakistan pacers, with Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi making quick work of whatever was left of the Australian lineup. The visitors finished for 231, which still seemed way lower than what it once looked they would get.

Pakistan batters taken by surprise

If Australia's top-order was shoddy, Pakistan's was a step ahead of them. Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat hardly waited any time before getting back to the hut. This left Babar Azam and Ghazi Ghori in somewhat of a similar position to the one they were in the first ODI. 

However, Babar was soon dismissed, and the predicament became trickier for the side. Pakistan still had a few decent batters left and with a low target, the task, though difficult, did not seem impossible.

But that was before Salman Ali Agha and Abdul Samad were undone by Australian spinners. Pakistan's seventh wicket, Ghori, one of the top-scorers from the last game, fell before the end of the seventeenth over with the team still on 137.

Amidst all the chaos and collapse, Shadab Khan decided to don a new attire as he kept holding his end while batting with the tail. He slowly worked his way to his first fifty in fourteen innings. 

Arafat and Shadab built a 59-run partnership off just 33 balls at a moment when Pakistan seemed out of contention. Despite their brilliance, they could not find an antidote to Australian bowlers regularly striking. Shadab, batting with No. 11, was the last one to fall after bringing his side just 41 runs short of victory.

Australia won the game and levelled the series 1-1, rendering the third ODI the series decider.

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