LAHORE: If there were any doubts regarding Australia’s ability to win in Asia, they are well clear now. They put on a memorable performance here to take the series against Pakistan despite all the odds stacked against them. They defeated Pakistan by 115 runs to take the first-ever Benaud-Qadir Trophy, winning 1-0.
When the day’s play resumed, Pakistan had all 10 wickets in hand and needed 278 to win the series. However, testing line and lengths by the Aussie bowlers meant that Pakistan were always going to find it difficult to put the visitors under pressure. Abdullah Shafique quickly fell to Cameron Green, with Pakistan adding just four runs to their overnight score.
Controversial calls combined with poor tactical use of DRS meant that Pakistan fell short by 115 runs in the end. Pat Cummins won the Player of the Match award for taking eight wickets in the game, with Usman Khawaja winning the Player of the Series award for scoring 496 runs.
The two sides will now meet in the limited overs series starting from March 29.