On Sunday, 10th of November 2024, the Pakistan cricket team led by Mohammad Rizwan etched its name in history books by winning a series in Australia after 22 years. On Sunday, Pakistan and Australia headed to Optus Stadium in Perth with a stalemate situation of 1-1. Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl. This decision of Rizwan proved to be a masterstroke as they bundled out Australia on just 140 runs and chased down a 141-run target in 26.5 overs to script history in Perth by registering an eight-wicket win.
With this win, the Pakistan team registered its first series win in Australia since 2002, irrespective of the format. However, this series win is not Pakistan’s only ODI series victory against Australia in Australia. The first-ever series won by Pakistan in Australia was the Carlton & United Series, a tri-series featuring the West Indies, Australia, and Pakistan. Pakistan had defeated West Indies to win this series.
With this win, Rizwan becomes the only third Pakistani captain to win a series in Australia. The first-ever Pakistani skipper to register a series win in Australia was Wasim Akram, who won the Carlton & United Series (Tri Series) in 1997. The second time a Pakistani captain emerged triumphant in a series in Australia was in 2002 when Waqar Younis was leading the Pakistan ODI side.
Winning a series in Australia has always been a spectacular phenomenon in world cricket, but this series win meant more than that for Pakistan cricket, which has been in constant turmoil for the past two to three years. With this win, Pakistan has announced on the world stage that they are still the old Pakistani team that can beat anyone on its day.
