After a closely fought loss in the first game, Mohammad Rizwan and his men came back in some fashion, comprehensively defeating Australia by 9 wickets to level the series. Haris Rauf and Saim Ayub were the key architects of the victory, with Shaheen Afridi and Abdullah Shafique chipping in with vital contributions as well.

The series is now tied at 1-1, and with some of Australia’s key players set to sit out for the series decider and have some rest ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Pakistan can truly hope of winning an ODI series against Australia in Australia for the first time since 2002.

On that note, let us look at what led Pakistan to this dominating victory:

Pakistan’s openers finally finding their stride

Post numerous failures across formats as an opening pair, Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique finally stitched up a match-winning partnership in the second ODI against Australia. Chasing 164, the two young batters put up a 137-run stand to put Pakistan in the driver’s seat.

The duo was troubled by the Australian pacers early on, especially by Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. However, they played out the powerplay cautiously, and once they settled, they made sure they grabbed a boundary or two almost every over.

Saim Ayub broke the shackles and went after Mitchell Starc in the 12th over, clearing the ropes once and striking two boundaries in that over. Once he got his eye in, he absolutely toyed with the Aussies, delivering six meaty blows to put Australia on the back foot.

It was an exhibition from the southpaw, with some beautifully struck pulls and wristy flicks to lead him to a 71-ball 82, making it the highest-ever score by a Pakistani opener against Australia in Australia. After a long wait, Pakistan fans saw the Saim Ayub that was promised to them across PSL seasons turn up and do the same in international cricket.

Abdullah Shafique played his part to perfection. Once Saim Ayub started middling it, he understood what was required and played second fiddle to the left-handed batter. Following Saim Ayub’s dismissal, he came to the party and led Pakistan to a victory with a flurry of boundaries. His unbeaten knock of 64 was full of class and an absolute treat to the eye, with some delightful stroke-making on display.

Pakistan’s openers combined to hit 9 sixes, which is the fourth-most sixes that have ever been hit by openers in an ODI against Australia. A total of 10 sixes were hit in the innings, which is also the joint-most by a team in an ODI against Australia in Australia.

Pakistan fans would hope that it is the onset of something special, with two of Pakistan’s biggest batting talents finally delivering as an opening combination.

Shaheen Afridi removing the openers early

A couple of years back, Shaheen Afridi sending the opposition’s openers back to the hut was a common occurrence – something that led Pakistan to victory in a number of big games in T20Is. Post the pacer’s knee injury in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Final, he had struggled to repeat his heroics.

Pakistan have been desperately waiting for early wickets from Shaheen Afridi, and he delivered exactly that in the second ODI of the three-game series.

Jake Fraser-McGurk, who has built a reputation for being a ruthless hitter of the ball, started to get in his groove after he found the boundary thrice in Naseem Shah’s first over. Australia were off to a flier, racking up 20 runs in just two overs.

The dream start didn’t last too long for Australia after Shaheen Afridi produced an absolute peach in his second over to trap Jake Fraser-McGurk LBW – a trademark Shaheen Shah Afridi delivery that pitches around middle and nips back in late, beating the bat.

About four overs after the first wicket, Shaheen Afridi also curtailed Matthew Short’s stay at the crease with a rather ordinary delivery that the batter hammered straight into the hands of Babar Azam, who was fielding at point.

These early wickets laid the platform for Pakistan, paving the way for a Haris Rauf masterclass.

Haris Rauf’s fiery spell of pace bowling

Once again, Haris Rauf produced a magical performance on Australian soil, picking up his second ODI 5-fer. He was breathing fire and just turned out to be too quick for the Aussies.

The 31-year-old has had his issues in Asian conditions, but he holds a stellar record in Australia, where the pitches suit his bowling much better. As it stands, he has now taken 53 wickets in Australia across formats, including league cricket, at an average of less than 16.

Despite his issues with control, he has bowled with pinpoint accuracy in the first two ODIs. He has generated good pace and bounce and relentlessly targeted the corridor of uncertainty, leaving the batters in two minds.

With fourth and fifth stump deliveries that rise sharply onto the batters, he has troubled even the biggest of names like Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne this series.

After a horror campaign in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Haris Rauf was on the receiving end of a lot of criticism with regard to his ability to play 50-over cricket for Pakistan.

Leaking runs has been an issue with him for the longest time, but it isn’t something that is exclusive to him. It is, in fact, one of the drawbacks of express pace bowling that even the likes of Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Lockie Ferguson, Anrich Nortje, etc., struggle with.

Moreover, his lack of form over the last 12-15 months could also stem from subpar management of his skills by Pakistan’s skippers. He was being introduced into the attack a tad too early, and it is never easy to come back after a costly first couple of overs. On grounds that were not too large, his lines and lengths were clearly disturbed by the early runs he conceded in almost all games.

Credit must also be given to Mohammad Rizwan for managing him well and using him to his strengths.