Lahore, June 3: Fast bowler Nathan Ellis grabbed a career-best 4-33 on yet another tricky wicket and led Australia to series-levelling 41-run win over Pakistan in the second one-day international.
Pakistan, which won the first game by five wickets on a turning wicket, was bowled out for 190 after Australia had scored 231-9 on a pitch that had plenty of turn for the spinners and variable bounce for the seam bowlers.
Half-centuries from captain Josh Inglis (51) and Cameron Green (53) were supported by Matthew Renshaw’s run-a-ball 43, while 19-year-old Oliver Peake added 31 off 32 balls after Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi won the toss and elected to field.
Left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas, who became the first Pakistani bowler to take five wickets in his debut ODI at Rawalpindi last Saturday, returned figures of 2-27.
Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed had 2-34 while the pace duo of captain Afridi (3-36) and Haris Rauf (2-49) shared five wickets between them.
All-rounder Shadab Khan scored 71 off 104 balls to make amends for his wicketless return of 0-56 and took the Pakistan chase deep before he was the last man dismissed – stumped down the legside by Inglis off leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha.
Ellis struck in his first over when Maaz Sadaqat played the ball back onto his stumps, and then the fast bowler had Babar Azam (16) lbw off a delivery that nipped sharply into Pakistan’s premier batter in the fifth over.
Pakistan’s middle-order struggled to cope with the spin of Matthew Short (3-36) and slumped to 78-6 before Shadab and Arafat Minhas (33) revived the chase with a 59-run partnership.
But Ellis broke the stand when he had Minhas trapped lbw in the 32nd over.
The series concludes Thursday at the same venue. (AP)
