Player of the Match
Player of the Match

10.55pm Zampa has a career-best 4 for 43 and Australia have wrapped up a series win - their sixth in a row against Pakistan. Australia were setting today, and their 266 for 6 was built around Finch's 90, with Maxwell's breezy 71 providing the coda. With the pitch juiced up by the persistent drizzle, Cummins burst through the top order and Zampa mopped up the tail.

"It wasn't the easiest wicket to start on," says Glenn Maxwell. "Once I got through that, it got easier. To win six in a row, to win with this team, has been amazing. We're peaking at the right time. We've been really focused about what we want to do here. We want to build on this momentum. [The ball] is coming out alright. It's been a continual build for our team since last year, and we're starting to get it right."

Pat Cummins is the Player of the Match

"It was a little bit greasy out there underfoot, and it took me a few over to get used to it," says Cummins. "Me and [Behrendorff] had a good partnership, and they nicked a few. It felt alright, thanks to management and Finchy they gave me a couple of games off, and it was nice to come back today fresh. Fresh legs helps [in the field too]."

"The total was in our hands, but when you're playing in Abu Dhabi it's always tough, anything over 250," says Shoaib Malik. "Keeping wickets and going deep in the game, that's where you create the chance, but we couldn't do that. The Aussie bowlers were seaming and swinging the ball around. If you give couple of chances to a good batsman, then expect to chase something big. Getting opportunities and grabbing them is the key of the game. We are trying to give all the players chances so selection committee and team management have a better picture in front of them. Every game is important. We have two more opportunities. If we win two games, we have something in our pocket."

"We've played some consistent cricket," says Aaron Finch. "We've been building up and doing the basics well. Any time you can beat India and Pakistan in their home conditions is good. We're playing spin a lot better than we have in the past. Handscomb played a good innings before he was knocked over by a good ball. Partnerships don't allow the opposition to get on top. That's been an improvement. Maxwell and Handscomb both played great knocks. As a captain, it's very hard to set fields to guys like that."

Finch on missing out on his hundred: "I got a bit impatient. I got a bit greedy. I was struggling out there to be honest. I don't know how many times I hit the guy at cover. If we had lost tonight, it would have been my fault for batting so slow. But we ended up getting a good score on a difficult wicket. The rain put a bit of moisture in the wicket, and Cummins and Behrendorff exploited that. Our spinners were incredibly good again."

And that's all from your commentary team, Andrew McGlashan and Liam Brickhill. Australia will go to the fourth ODI in Dubai on Friday with the series in the bag. Pakistan have two more chances to get it right. Until next time, goodbye!

Najeem Akbar: "How you expect a team to win when they play 150+ dot balls in 44.4 overs?"

Mohammad Ehtesh: "We can see Imad Wasim's genuine all rounding capabilities as well as his mindset for finishing each innings. When Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and potentially Asif Ali in for the WC, Imad should be in a decent position to finish off games on a high! "

Jesuran Jonatha: "Australia also have 150+ dot balls" -- Fair point, but they also hit more boundaries and ran many more twos


44.4
W
Zampa to Mohammad Hasnain, OUT, there's a review. Zampa floats a googly up high and it rushes in to beat Hasnain's inside edge and hit him on the back leg. The appeal is turned down, but they ask for a review. Three reds, and he's gone!

Mohammad Hasnain lbw b Zampa 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

Hamza: "You could say Imad was attempting a run there given how far down the wicket he was, thus making the it legal :)" -- In any case, won't have any effect on the result

44.3
W
Zampa to Junaid Khan, OUT, Zampa has his third! Tossed up high and Junaid takes the bait, slogging wildly to send a swirling top edge into the air. Carey calls for it, and holds it with a reverse cup with his helmet grille slipping back over his head

Junaid Khan c †Carey b Zampa 5 (8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 62.50

44.2
2
Zampa to Junaid Khan, 2 runs, slapped down to wide long on
44.1
1
Zampa to Yasir Shah, 1 run, legbreak, spinning away from an off stump line to be punched to cover

Zampa will complete his quota

END OF OVER:
44 | 5 Runs | PAK: 183/8 (84 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 4.15, RRR: 14.00)

  • Junaid Khan3 (6b)
  • Yasir Shah9 (16b)
  • Pat Cummins8-1-23-3
  • Adam Zampa9-1-40-2
43.6
0
Cummins to Junaid Khan, no run, bursting off a length outside off, and past Junaid's fend
43.5
1
Cummins to Yasir Shah, 1 run, pitched right up at close to 139km/h, and it's flicked off the toes
43.4
1
Cummins to Junaid Khan, 1 run,

This is what the rules say: 27.3 Position of wicket-keeper

27.3.1 The wicket-keeper shall remain wholly behind the wicket at the striker's end from the moment the ball comes into play until a ball delivered by the bowler

touches the bat or person of the striker or

passes the wicket at the striker's end or

the striker attempts a run.

43.3
2
Cummins to Junaid Khan, 2 runs, chopped down through gully
43.2
0
Cummins to Junaid Khan, no run, pushed to mid off
43.1
1
Cummins to Yasir Shah, 1 run, a leading edge balloons off a pull, but the ball bounces safely in no-man's land at deep backward square

Cummins returns to mop up the tail

END OF OVER:
43 | (wicket maiden) | PAK: 178/8 (89 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 4.13, RRR: 12.71)

  • Junaid Khan0 (2b)
  • Yasir Shah7 (14b)
  • Adam Zampa9-1-40-2
  • Nathan Lyon10-0-48-1
42.6
0
Zampa to Junaid Khan, no run, pushed through outside off, and he thrusts the pad out and leaves it alone

Matt: "TV commentators saying Carey's take for the stumping was legal. You can clearly see part of the glove in front of the stumps on the replay, so it should have been a no ball, no?" -- There was a sliver in front of the stumps, though the ball landed in his gloves behind them. And the shot had been played

42.5
0
Zampa to Junaid Khan, no run, floated up on off stump, and it's dug out to cover

Slip comes in

42.4
W
Zampa to Usman Shinwari, OUT, slugged straight to mid off! Two in the over for Zampa. He flights up a legbreak, inviting the big shot, but Shinwari's slog can only get as far as Behrendorff at deep mid off

Usman Shinwari c Behrendorff b Zampa 0 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

42.3
0
Zampa to Usman Shinwari, no run, googly, spinning in to him
42.2
0
Zampa to Usman Shinwari, no run, slightly quicker at 88km/h, and it's pushed defensively to off
42.1
W
Zampa to Imad Wasim, OUT, Imad runs past a googly and is easily stumped. He was also slightly done in the flight, having jumped down the track. And Pakistan sink a little further. The take from Carey is very close to the stumps ... in front of them? Will have to see a replay. Anyway, Imad marches off

Imad Wasim st †Carey b Zampa 43 (53b 4x4 0x6) SR: 81.13

END OF OVER:
42 | 5 Runs | PAK: 178/6 (89 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 4.23, RRR: 11.12)

  • Yasir Shah7 (14b)
  • Imad Wasim43 (52b)
  • Nathan Lyon10-0-48-1
  • Adam Zampa8-0-40-0
41.6
0
Lyon to Yasir Shah, no run, slightly short, but Yasir's pull goes straight to midwicket
41.5
1
Lyon to Imad Wasim, 1 run, punched down to long on for one
41.4
2
Lyon to Imad Wasim, 2 runs, Imad turns around into a reverse slog-sweep, but it doesn't go the distance, plugging in the outfield towards third man. Handscomb makes excellent ground around the boundary, diving to save runs

Abdullah Ghayyo: "Regardless of pakistani team failure in this series, i am impressed with imad's batting approach in lower middle order. He seems to be more organized & fluent with batting as comapred to many others in this lineup."

41.3
1
Lyon to Yasir Shah, 1 run, slightly too short, outside off, and he's punched out to the cover sweeper
41.2
0
Lyon to Yasir Shah, no run, Yasir uses his feet to get down the track, but he's not to the pitch as it spins sharply in to him
41.1
1
Lyon to Imad Wasim, 1 run, Imad hops back at some width, cutting hard out to the sweeper

Raed: "Unfortunately, Pakistan has a lot of players to play 'reckless' shots. I don't think that's what is needed at number 6. A finisher is what Pakistan needs. Don't see one in sight. I do miss Razzaq a lot now."

END OF OVER:
41 | 7 Runs | PAK: 173/6 (94 runs required from 54 balls, RR: 4.21, RRR: 10.44)

  • Imad Wasim39 (49b)
  • Yasir Shah6 (11b)
  • Adam Zampa8-0-40-0
  • Nathan Lyon9-0-43-1
40.6
1
Zampa to Imad Wasim, 1 run, worked down to long on for one
40.5
0
Zampa to Imad Wasim, no run, whoops, this one heads down the leg side. It must have flicked the pad, not given as a wide
40.4
0
Zampa to Imad Wasim, no run, quicker one, stump to stump, and it's glanced defensively to leg

Pakistan 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st14Shan MasoodImam-ul-Haq
2nd2Haris SohailImam-ul-Haq
3rd0Mohammad RizwanImam-ul-Haq
4th59Shoaib MalikImam-ul-Haq
5th21Shoaib MalikUmar Akmal
6th53Imad WasimUmar Akmal
7th29Yasir ShahImad Wasim
8th0Yasir ShahUsman Shinwari
9th8Yasir ShahJunaid Khan
10th0Yasir ShahMohammad Hasnain