Finch unbeaten century powers Australia to 2-0 lead over Pakistan

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Australia captain Aaron finch was among the runs again, as he smashed another One-day International (ODI) century to take Australia to a 2-0 lead over Pakistan in the five-match series.

Opener Usman Khawaja was off to a flier, giving Australia a strong start in their chase of 285.

Hasnain tried to keep Australia openers in-check with his bouncers. However, Finch eventually picked up the pace and raced past Khawaja’s score.

At one point in the innings, Finch was at 15 when Khawaja was batting on 35 runs. Whereas, when Finch notched up his 13^th ODI century, Khawaja was on 75.

Yet again, lack of penetration was the feature of Pakistan bowling in the second ODI.

Pakistan needed a glut of wickets from their spinners, but leg-spinner Yasir Shah and all-rounder Imad Wasim failed to create any trouble for Australia batsmen.

Shah eventually induced a rash shot from Khawaja on 88, raising hopes of a late fightback from Pakistan.

However, Finch crushed any such hopes, finishing with an unbeaten knock of 155.

Earlier, Pakistan bettered their score in the first ODI by four runs and posted 284-7 in in their allotted 50 overs.

Pakistan lost both their openers in the first six overs of the innings, after winning the toss and opting to bat first.

Middle-order batsman Haris Sohail carried his form from the first ODI and formed a fifty run stand with wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan.

However, an inspired decision by Finch to introduce himself into attack paid dividends, as he removed Sohail for 34.

Hard-hitting batsman Umar Akmal didn’t learn from his mistake from the previous game, as he fell into the trap set by Nathan Lyon and departed for 16.

Veteran all-rounder and stand-in captain Shoaib Malik capitalized on his start and formed an important partnership with Rizwan to perform the rebuilding job.

Rizwan struck a brilliant century batting at his favourite number four position, to set perfect platform for a strong finish.

However, both Malik (60) and Rizwan (115) fell in a space of two overs, failing to capitalize on the well-set foundation.

Australia showed considerable improvement in their death bowling, despite losing pacer Jhye Richardson to a shoulder injury earlier in the innings.

They conceded only 96 runs in the last 15 overs, compared to 90 runs in 11 overs in the first ODI.

Finch was once again adjudged player of the match for his brilliant knock, at the top of the order.