PERTH: Faced with a rare challenge from Pakistan at home, Australia have vowed to maintain their attacking mindset with the bat when the teams lock horns in the third and decisive One-day International here at the Optus Stadium on Sunday.

The Mohammad Rizwan-captained Pakistan levelled the ODI series 1-1 after thrashing Australia by nine wickets in the second game at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night. The hosts had won the series opener at Melbourne by two wickets.

In Adelaide, Australia were bowled out for a pretty modest 163 in 35 overs, with Pakistan cruising to the victory target with 141 balls to spare.

The rare defeat in Adelaide marked the first time since 1992 that Australia have lost a home ODI by nine wickets.

Australia’s attacking approach has been a hallmark of their ODI success, with the nation winning their sixth 50-over World Cup crown last year in India.

But the aggressive mindset has proved unsuccessful in the ongoing series against Pakistan.

Only Pat Cummins’ heroics with the bat helped Australia reach the 204-run victory target in the first game.

But the wheels fell off completely in Adelaide, with Australia crashing to 130-8 on the way to the heavy defeat.

Australian coach Andrew McDonald declared his team won’t be changing their tried-and-tested approach despite recent batting wobbles.

“We’re committed to the style that we want to [play],” McDonald said. “We’ve won I think 16 out of the last 19 games, and we’ve got some changing personnel within that, but we believe in the style we want to play as a group.

“If you look at the dismissals, there were some defensive strokes within that. I think it’s just finding that balance.

“We’ve had great success with the style we want to play at the top of the order, making sure we’re putting pressure on opposition bowling units,” he added.

“Over the journey so far it’s served us well.”

With Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head on paternity leave, openers Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk are yet to grasp their opportunity.

Short has posted scores of 19 and one, with 22-year-old rising star Fraser-McGurk (13 and 16) also yet to fire.

McDonald is backing the pair to turn their fortunes around.

“Matt Short [in the ODIs and T20s] in England showed he’s up to the task,” McDonald underlined.

“And Jake is not the finished article either. I think everyone thinks he may be the finished article. He’s going on a journey with his career, and we believe he’s good enough to play at this level at this point in time.

“Clearly there’s always going to be some setbacks within that. But we believe we’ve got the right personnel in there to continue to grow as a group.”

Australia will make mass changes for the series decider in Perth.

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will all be rested so they can prepare for the upcoming five-Test home series against India.

Josh Inglis will captain the ODI side today while Lance Morris, Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett, Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly and Marcus Stoinis are among the possible inclusions.

Australia will need to find an answer on how best to handle Pakistan pacers, particularly Haris Rauf, who snared 3-67 and 5-29 in the first two ODIs.

The tourists made a commendable comeback in Adelaide after heartbreak in Melbourne where the Australian batters cruised to victory with almost a hundred balls to spare but lost a flurry of wickets on the way as skillful Pakistan bowlers tested them.

Raising their game further in the second game, the bowling line-up comprising Haris, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain restricted the hosts to a below par total that led Pakistan to a resounding win.

How the tourists’ batters, including experienced pros like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, face the Australian bowlers in Perth where the conditions are expected to be different from Adelaide will be paramount if Rizwan and his men are to leave the Optus Stadium with the trophy today.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2024