Skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi took three wickets to help Pakistan bowl out Australia for a below-par total in the third and final ODI of the home series at Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Australia captain Josh Inglis’s decision to bat first backfired as the visitors could accumulate 157 before getting bowled out in 42 overs.
The touring side got off to a dismal start to their innings as Shaheen dismissed their opener Matthew Short (zero) on just the second delivery.
Following the early stutter, Marnus Labuschagne (19) joined captain Josh Inglis in the middle, and the duo batted cautiously to put together 46 runs until the former was run out in the 12th over, courtesy of a direct hit by Arafat Minhas.
Inglis then shared a 52-run partnership for the third wicket with fellow wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey, who could muster 19 before falling victim to Haris Rauf in the 22nd over.
The Australia captain was eventually sent back by Pakistan counterpart Shaheen in the 27th over, during which the left-arm pacer also got rid of all-rounder Cameron Green (seven) as the touring side slipped to 120/5.
Inglis remained the top-scorer for Australia with a gritty 65 off 71 deliveries with the help of eight fours and a six.
Australia then lost two more wickets in quick succession as Abrar Ahmed dismissed Matt Renshaw (four) and Cooper Connolly (three) in his successive overs, while experienced all-rounder Shadab Khan ended his wicket drought in ODIs by dismissing Oliver Peake in the 35th over.
Shadab struck again on the second delivery of the 42nd over, cleaning up Adam Zampa (10), while Matthew Kuhnemann’s run-out in the same over ended Australia’s woeful outing with the bat.
Shaheen spearheaded Pakistan’s bowling charge with economical figures of 3/30 in eight overs, followed by Shadab and Abrar with two each, while Rauf chipped in with one scalp.