Australia registered a thumping victory in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE. Australia completely dominated the series, and even in the final match that the Aussies seemed set to lose, they pulled off a spectacular victory courtesy a brilliant last over by Glenn Maxwell, which was a double-wicket maiden. Here is a look at the top performers from the Australia-Pakistan series.
Steven Smith: He was undoubtedly the standout performer in the series. In three games, Smith finished with 190 runs at an average of 63.3 with one hundred and one fifty. Not surprisingly, he was the highest run-scorer in the series by some distance. He faced 238 balls, and scored his runs at a strike rate of 80. By modern standards, the strike rate seems low. However, given the challenging conditions for batting, and the struggles of many others, the returns were highly impressive. Smith hit 11 fours and two sixes during the course of the series.
Sarfraz Ahmed: He was the only Pakistani who made some sort of significant contribution for Pakistan during the course of the series. Ahmed was the second highest run-getter with 131 runs at an average of 43.6 with one fifty, the highest score of 65. He had an impressive strike rate of 86 during the series, scoring his runs off 152 balls. Ahmed slammed 10 fours and two sixes during the series.
David Warner: The Aussie left-hander was in very good form throughout the series. Warner scored 128 runs at an average of 42.6 with one fifty, his highest score being 56. As expected, Warner maintained a very high strike rate of 83.6. Warner hit 16 fours and one six during the series, and his swift starts helped Aussie get into comfortable positions.
Glenn Maxwell: The Aussie big-hitter played one major knock during the series, as a result of which he finished with 117 runs at an average of 39, with one half-century – his highest score of 76. Maxwell maintained an excellent strike rate of 92.8 during the series. He faced 126 balls, and struck 11 fours and one six. Maxwell also made an impact with the ball. He claimed four wickets at an average of 22.2, with an economy rate of 5.2 and a strike rate of 25.5. The most memorable performance was obviously the double-wicket maiden he bowled during the last over of the ODI series.
Mitchell Johnson: The left-arm seamer played only two matches in the series, but still made a major impact with his pace. He claimed six wickets in the two matches at an average of 10.6 with a best of 3 for 24. Johnson’s economy rate in the series was 3.8 and his strike rate was 17. Once again, he showed his value to the Australian team.
--By A Cricket Analyst
