PERTH   -  Pakistan secured their first ODI series victory in Australia since 2002 with a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the third and final match at Perth Sta­dium on Sunday.

Under the leadership of newly appointed captain Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan staged an im­pressive comeback to clinch the series 2-1, following a loss in the opening match.Set a target of 141, Pakistan’s chase was bol­stered by a strong opening part­nership between Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, who added 84 runs before Lance Morris halted their momentum by dis­missing both in quick succession.

Saim top-scored with 42 off 52 balls, including four bound­aries and a six, while Abdullah contributed 37 from 53 balls, striking one six and one four. After the openers’ departure, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan took control, guiding Pakistan home with an unbeat­en 58-run partnership. Rizwan played a swift 30-run knock off 27 balls, featuring two sixes and a four, while Babar remained steady with 28 off 30 balls, hit­ting four boundaries, sealing the victory in 26.5 overs.

Earlier, Rizwan’s decision to field first was validated by a strong bowling performance that restricted Australia to a modest 140. Naseem Shah struck early, removing Jake Fraser-McGurk (7), and Paki­stan’s bowlers continued to apply pressure. Matthew Short attempted to stabilize Austra­lia’s innings with a cautious 20, but wickets fell regularly at the other end.

Haris Rauf ended Short’s in­nings at 72-4 in the 14th over, and Australia’s struggles deep­ened as Marcus Stoinis (8) and Glenn Maxwell (0) departed swiftly, leaving them teetering at 88-6. A brief counter-attack by Sean Abbott, who scored 30, along with lower-order contri­butions from Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson, helped push Australia’s total to 140.

However, Shaheen Afridi’s two quick strikes ended the re­sistance, as Australia’s innings wrapped up with Cooper Con­nolly unable to return due to in­jury.Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah led Pakistan’s attack with three wickets each, while Haris Rauf claimed two, and Moham­mad Hasnain picked up one.