Australia have defeated Pakistan by six runs to take a 4-0 lead in the ODI series, winning in Dubai despite a record-breaking century from the new opener Abid Ali – the highest score by any Pakistan batsman on ODI debut.
Mohammad Rizwan also scored a century but Aaron Finch’s team defended 277 for seven to extend their winning streak to seven games, with Glenn Maxwell (98) producing his highest ODI score since the 2015 World Cup.
Ali (112) and Rizwan (104) shared a 144-run stand, guiding their team to a point where they needed 66 from the final 10 overs. The hosts were perfectly placed to complete Pakistan’s highest successful ODI chase against Australia but faltered in the closing overs.
Adam Zampa’s dismissal of Ali in the 42nd over gave Australia hope and they proceeded to shift momentum as Nathan Coulter-Nile snagged two wickets.
Marcus Stoinis was handed the ball for the final over, with Pakistan needing 17 runs for victory. Stoinis started with a single and a wide but then captured the all-important scalp of Rizwan, who picked out Peter Handscomb in the deep. Usman Shinwari came in and hit his first ball for six but then was also caught by Handscomb, ensuring Pakistan’s tail could not conjure any miracles.
Australia continued their resurgence and showed real grit on a day when plenty of things went wrong. Coulter-Nile had clean bowled Shan Masood in the opening over of Pakistan’s innings but the rest of Australia’s attack, weakened by the rested Pat Cummins and Jason Behrendorff, struggled throughout the middle overs.
Australia had made a positive start in their innings due to Usman Khawaja (62) and Aaron Finch, who scored 39 and set a new record for most runs by an Australian in a five-match ODI series.
Maxwell marched to the middle at 101-4 in the 23rd over, at which point spinners Imad Wasim and Yasir Shah had two wickets each and it was unclear whether Australia would bat out their overs. The Victorian finished two runs short of what would have been the second ODI century of his career, having played some outrageous strokes.
The allrounder was run out for 98, attempting to get back on strike during the final over as Australia finished 277-7 in the first of their two dead rubbers in Dubai. The series finished on Sunday with the fifth ODI, with Australia looking to complete a clean-sweep of victories.