Australia romp to ODI series win

Australia's perfectly timed return to one-day prominence ahead of the looming World Cup has seen them romp to their sixth straight victory, with their stars sealing a series triumph over Pakistan.

Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell played contrasting innings of substance, before Pat Cummins delivered the knockout blow with the new ball to see the Aussies claim an 80-run victory in the third ODI in Abu Dhabi.

Finch got within 10 runs of becoming the first Australian to score centuries in three consecutive ODIs, a feat only 10 men, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Kumar Sangakkara among them, have achieved.

With scores of 116, 153 not out and 90 in the first three games of the campaign, Finch has emphatically re-established himself as an indispensable member of Australia's top-order for the World Cup.

The opener's 136-ball knock was far from his most fluent innings, finding the fence just six times, but the late fireworks from his close friend Maxwell ensured Australia posed a competitive 6-266.

Maxwell creamed 71 from just 55 deliveries, his highest ODI score in two years, to send a timely reminder of his finishing capabilities with returns of Steve Smith and David Warner looming.

In his first game back following a two-game rest, Cummins (3-23 off eight overs) found extravagant seam movement under lights to make a mess of Pakistan's top-order as he snared three wickets in 11 balls all caught behind the wicket. 

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa then cleaned up the tail to finish up with 4-43 from 9.4 overs.

 

Image Id: 5DCB46F5766841288ABAE37D8473AAFD Image Caption: Glenn Maxwell played a key hand // Getty

 

Australia's six-game win streak is the longest stretch they've put together since the 2015 World Cup, while it's the first time in two-and-a-half years they've won back-to-back ODI series abroad.

They now turn their attention to the final two games of the series in Dubai on Friday and Sunday, where they'll be targeting their first five-game series whitewash abroad in over a decade.

Their win came despite an early wobble against the new ball, slumping to 2-20 inside six overs after Finch had won the toss and batted first.

Usman Khawaja was clean bowled for a duck by the recalled Usman Shinwari in the left-armer's first over, while Shaun Marsh (14) somehow managed to bat-pad one all the way to square leg.

Peter Handscomb looked sublime in his 43-ball 47 before part-timer Haris Sohail (1-35) removed him against the run of play.

In his first hit of the series, Marcus Stoinis, already nursing a broken thumb, briefly required medical attention after smashing his ankle with his own bat, but he reached just 10 as he became the third Aussie to miss a straight one.

Finch's 82-ball fifty was the equal-slowest of his career, matching his contribution in the 2015 World Cup semi-final, as Australia's run-machine from the first two games struggled to get going.

 

Image Id: 9F711E9165F34DB19017A390690ECD4E Image Caption: Peter Handscomb took a brilliant one-hander // cricket.com.au

 

He nonetheless put himself in sight of a 14^th ODI ton which would have brought him level with Warner and put him in equal-fourth spot among leading Australian century-makers, but holed out to long-on off Yasir Shah.

With the Aussies in a pickle at 5-188 with 50 balls remaining, Maxwell's knock came at a crucial juncture.

After scoring just 17 off his first 27 balls, the right-hander exploded to take 54 off his next 28 with a series of audacious strokes, punishing Pakistan after giving him a life on 27 and dispatching a series of short balls.

In a passage reminiscent of when someone accidentally presses the 'run' button in Ricky Ponting Cricket 2005, his match-winning cameo ended with a mix-up as Alex Carey (25 not out off 21) rightly refused to run a bye, leaving Maxwell mid-pitch when keeper Mohammad Rizwan threw down the stumps.

Having initially struggled to get into his rhythm as Pakistan's innings begun during a steady flow of rain, Cummins obliterated his opposition's hopes of keeping the series alive when he eventually found his groove.

Handscomb took a blinder at slip off Shan Masood (2), before Haris Sohail (1) and Rizwan (three-ball duck) on review both followed in the same over after a rain delay, all to Cummins.

Maxwell's (1-21 off five overs) good night continued when he had Imam-ul-Haq (46) lbw (with debutant umpire Asif Yaqoob's call standing up to a review after the first two 'out' decisions of his career were overturned) as did Cummins' with a sliding outfield catch.

Shoaib Malik (31), Umar Akmal (36) and Imad Wasim (43) all scrapped to keep Pakistan alive, but their top-order's failure to fire proved fatal as Pakistan lost their last five wickets for 37 runs.

Pakistan: Shan Masood, Imam ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik (c), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari, Junaid Khan, Muhammad Hasnain

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff

Qantas Tour of the UAE

First ODI: Australia won by eight wickets

Second ODI: Australia won by eight wickets

Third ODI: Australia won by 80 runs

Fourth ODI: v Pakistan, March 29 in Dubai

Fifth ODI: v Pakistan, March 31 in Dubai

(all matches begin at 10pm AEDT)