9.32 pm ESPNcricinfo stats man Sampath Bandarupalli says this is Pakistan's first ODI series win vs Australia since 2002. In the immediate term, it also means Pakistan breaks a deadlock with New Zealand and West Indies to now move into sole possession of eight place on the Cricket World Cup Super League points table with 60 points from 12 matches. Pakistan still have 12 ODIs left in the competition, and only the top 7 not including hosts India (currently in third place on the table) clinch automatic berths in the 2023 ICC World Cup.
Imam-Ul-Haq after his unbeaten 89*: "The way the boys came back from the first match, it just comes into the self-belief and the trust we have in each other. We talked a lot and said we really need to step up. You can't perform in every game but hats off to the boys the way they stepped up. I'm a mature player now and working hard for the last one and a half years and want to thank almighty Allah. The way things are changing up for me, I really want to thank Babar. He's my best friend and we really help each other, and my coaches, I really want to thank everyone. Fakhar got out early, but we knew we were in good form me and Babar. We just wanted to stay in the crease and we knew if we did, the runs will come. It was not a high amount of runs, it was just 211, so we wanted to just stay calm, have good shape, good intent, punish the loose balls and we were lucky today. [On his critics] I respect everyone and I really thank almighty Allah [when] they criticize me. The thing which I have changed in myself is that I just can control what is in my control and that is my cricket. I really want to focus on that. If you play in a match for Pakistan against any team, you will be criticized."
Babar Azam is unsurprisingly named Player of the Match.
Australia captain Aaron Finch: "We didn't get enough runs. When you go three down in the first few overs, it's always going to be hard to get a total. But I thought our guys fought really hard. With the ball in hand, we tried a lot of different things but two class guys put on a clinic tonight. We just wanted to keep being attacking and aggressive through the whole [first] innings. We knew that if we got 200, you're probably never going to win the game unless everything goes perfectly for you with the ball. So you're still trying to get above 260-270 and sometimes you risk losing some wickets and making that 200 instead of just going to 220 or 230 anyway. Travis and Ben played really well throughout the series. I think with the ball, Nathan Ellis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Adam Zampa bowled excellent throughout all three games. I thought there were a lot more positives than negatives. It was just we were on the receiving end of a couple of great knocks from Babar and Imam. It's been amazing to play here in Pakistan in front of some great fans. They've been supportive of great cricket regardless of whether it's Australia playing well or Pakistan. So we're very thankful for that."
The Player of the Series award, including the new car goes to... drumroll please..... Babar Azam. Babar's 276 runs in this series are the fourth most in a three-run ODI series by a Pakistan batter. Imam's 298 runs are third. They're both behind... Babar Azam's 360 runs against West Indies in 2016-17.
That's it from ESPNcricinfo's live ball-by-ball coverage of this ODI series. On behalf of Alex Malcolm and Andrew McGlashan, thanks a bunch for following along. Stay tuned for post-match reporting from Tristan Lavalette and Danyal Rasool. And come back Tuesday for the one-off T20I! I'm Peter Della Penna, take care!
Majidzafar: "Watching from Dubai while keep my business on hold xd"
Syed Muhammad S: "Watching from Sunny Bristol, UK. Some of my friends are watching from Benghazi, Libya."
Hassan : "Following from Islamabad."
