Ellis four-fer makes it 1-1

Australia bounced back in the ODI series in style as a four-wicket haul from Nathan Ellis was instrumental in them after losing the opening game. On a Lahore surface that was low and slow, Australia struggled with the bat but managed to get the job done with the ball to eke out a convincing 41-run win.

Australia made a disastrous start after being asked to bat as Alex Carey was dismissed first ball. It was a sign of things to come on this surface as the delivery stopped a bit from Shaheen Afridi and Carey only managed to inside-edge it on to his stumps. Josh Inglis managed to fetch a few boundaries to try and reverse the pressure but Abrar Ahmed's introduction did the trick as Matthew Short chipped one back to the bowler. Marnus Labuschagne's attempt to slog sweep didn't pay dividends as he too departed for a low score to leave Australia hanging at 51/3.

Inglis then joined forces with Cameron Green to revive Australia with a half-century stand. While Green bided his time, Inglis was the aggressor between the two. Batting on 15 off 35 at one point, Green finally broke the shackles with a six off Shadab Khan but Pakistan struck at the other end with Inglis being undone by low bounce on the surface. With the skipper departing for 51, Australia needed their middle order to step up in the second half of the innings.

Matt Renshaw and Oliver Peake then came up with significant contributions that were worth its weight in gold on this pitch. Renshaw and Green were content rotating strike on this surface with the odd boundary. Green brought up his half-century off 85 deliveries and was dismissed with a little more than 10 overs left in the innings. Although not many boundaries were hit at the death, a six and a four from Peake in the last over of the innings dragged Australia past 230 and that made a telling difference given Pakistan also struggled with the bat.

Maaz Sadaqat endured the same fate as Carey by getting bowled in the very first over in the same manner. Matthew Kuhnemann, bowling with the new ball at the other end, sent Sahibzada Farhan packing following an excellent catch from Adam Zampa. Babar Azam tried to fight back with a couple of boundaries but Ellis managed to trap him plumb in front. The procession continued inside the Powerplay for Pakistan as Short got into the attack and opened his account with the wicket of Salman Agha.

Abdul Samad was the next to depart as he got a leading edge to chip one back to Short. When Ghazi Ghori failed to connect a sweep against Zampa that saw his stumps get rearranged, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Pakistan given they were reduced to 78/6. However, Shadab put up a fight alongside Arafat Minhas to inject some life into the run chase. The two batters were involved in a crucial half-century stand that finally came to an end after Ellis was brought back.

Shadab then targeted Green for a couple of sixes before bringing up his fifty and that was followed by Shaheen also opting for the aggressive route with a couple of fours to cause some panic in the Australian camp with Pakistan now needing only 64. But Short came to Australia's rescue again as Shaheen edged one behind. In the end, Shadab's lone hand went in vain as Ellis returned to claim his fourth wicket of the evening. Tanveer Sangha applied the finishing touches by ending Shadab's 104-ball vigil that gave Australia a well-deserved win.

: Australia 231/9 in 50 overs (Cameron Green 53, Josh Inglis 51; Shaheen Afridi 3-36, Arafat Minhas 2-27) beat Pakistan 190 in 44.1 overs (Shadab Khan 71; Nathan Ellis 4-33; Matthew Short 3-36) by 41 runs