Australia v Pakistan, 2016-17
Wisden's review of the fifth ODI, Australia v Pakistan, 2016-17
15-Apr-2017
At Adelaide, January 26, 2017 (day/night). Australia won by 57 runs. Toss: Australia.
It was some way to celebrate Australia Day. Driven by their marauding openers, Australia hit their highest score against Pakistan for the second time in four days. Warner smashed a ballistic 179, his 13th - and biggest - one-day international century, while Head clocked his first, on his home ground. It could have different if a diving Azhar Ali had held Warner at slip off the first ball of the match. Instead, just after the halfway mark, he had a century from 78 balls, his quickest in the format. Warner survived another drop - Mohammad Amir the culprit - while cantering past 150 and, soon after, Head joined the celebrations. In the 41st over, Warner tried one cut too many, ending the stand at 284, Australia's highest for any wicket, beating 260 by Warner and Smith against Afghanistan at the 2105 World Cup. The rest swung hard, and a round 100 came from the final ten. For a time, Sharjeel Khan kept Pakistan interested, with his third fifty of the series. He put on 130 for the second wicket with Babar Azam, who went on to a crisp century, the second by a Pakistani against Australia in Australia, after Zaheer Abbas at Sydney in 1981-82, but their tenth in Australia overall. They were defiant until the last, reaching 300 for the first time in the series, until Starc bowled Wahab Riaz to give him a fourth victim.
Man of the Match: D. A. Warner. Man of the Series: D. A. Warner.
It was some way to celebrate Australia Day. Driven by their marauding openers, Australia hit their highest score against Pakistan for the second time in four days. Warner smashed a ballistic 179, his 13th - and biggest - one-day international century, while Head clocked his first, on his home ground. It could have different if a diving Azhar Ali had held Warner at slip off the first ball of the match. Instead, just after the halfway mark, he had a century from 78 balls, his quickest in the format. Warner survived another drop - Mohammad Amir the culprit - while cantering past 150 and, soon after, Head joined the celebrations. In the 41st over, Warner tried one cut too many, ending the stand at 284, Australia's highest for any wicket, beating 260 by Warner and Smith against Afghanistan at the 2105 World Cup. The rest swung hard, and a round 100 came from the final ten. For a time, Sharjeel Khan kept Pakistan interested, with his third fifty of the series. He put on 130 for the second wicket with Babar Azam, who went on to a crisp century, the second by a Pakistani against Australia in Australia, after Zaheer Abbas at Sydney in 1981-82, but their tenth in Australia overall. They were defiant until the last, reaching 300 for the first time in the series, until Starc bowled Wahab Riaz to give him a fourth victim.
Man of the Match: D. A. Warner. Man of the Series: D. A. Warner.