A stunning nine-wicket triumph by Pakistan over Australia at Adelaide Oval on Friday night has set the scene for a decider to the one day international series in Perth on Sunday, with the reigning World Champions well below their best in two matches to date.

Haris Rauf was phenomenal with the ball at Adelaide Oval, prompting one former great to ponder whether the Australians had an issue dealing with pace, while a string of hopefuls for the hosts failed to flatter with a view to selection for the Champions Trophy in February.

With Australia resting a quintet of stars to preserve them for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, several fringe performers will be tasked with winning the series on Sunday and showing selectors they deserve to be on the plane to Pakistan in February.

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HARIS HARRASSMENT POSES PACE QUERIES FOR AUSSIE TOP ORDER

Captain Pat Cummins declared it one Australia’s worst efforts in recent memory. Mark Waugh pondered if the night of woe was due to rust. And former English captain Michael Vaughan declared the Rauf rout will boost the confidence of teams facing the Australians.

The latter might well prove the most alarming issue for Australia’s hopes of securing the series given the final match is played in Perth, which is traditionally a welcoming destination for pace bowlers. Look out for Rauf to riff again in the west.

With Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who failed to take a wicket between them on Friday night in a rarity, now being put in cotton wool ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, the host nation’s hopes of claiming the series rest on its depth bowlers.

Xavier Bartlett and Spencer Johnson will join an Australian side, which will be captained by Josh Inglis, that will also be missing Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne against a Pakistan squad with its tail up after two fine performances.

What has effectively served as a trial series for the ICC Champions Trophy in February has raised questions from the merits of the personnel to a broader issue surrounding the side’s ability to handle pace, as raised by Vaughan on Fox Cricket.

“They have really struggled against pace. They are the World Champions and they are outstanding, but it is the one area where teams are going to target Australia,” Vaughan said.

“Haris Rauf (will be) charging in (again) in a couple of days time … that is certainly the area where teams will say that if you can get someone to bowl around 145km/h an hour (that will trouble them).”

Much can change over a summer but all being well, it is certain Australia will be bolstered by the return of Travis Head and Mitch Marsh to the top order for the tournament in Pakistan. Their presence will add depth through the middle order.

Whether players like Labuschagne, who has failed in both matches, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short are on the plane for the tournament is in question. Aaron Hardie has been the preferred all-rounder to date but is also yet to really leave a mark on the team.

The series is on the line on Sunday. But for several Australian representatives, there is far more at stake when it comes to 2025.

TANTALISING PROSPECT OR ULTIMATE TEASE?

It is the opening partnership that looks wonderful in full flight and promises so much, one could be tempted to think it could win Australia the ICC Champions Trophy if the combination fires in February.

But at the moment, the tantalising pairing of Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short is instead proving a tease. And it is one that is running out of time.

Friday’s appetiser lasted only 14 balls and had elements of shock and awe as both openers found the boundary with brilliant shots.

By the time Fraser-McGurk fell for 13 of ten balls, the Australians had piled on 22 runs in just 14 balls as the sweet-striking duo set about getting the hosts off to a flyer.

After appearing overawed at the MCG in the opening match of the series, Fraser-McGurk struck three fours in the second over of the match, which was bowled by Naseem Shah, and earned praise from 1999 World Cup winner Mark Waugh for his timing.

“He is the cleanest hitter of the ball I have seen for a long time. For a little guy, he packs a lot of punch,” Waugh said.

The problem is that while Fraser-McGurk and Short, who fell for 19 from 15 balls, is that their bursts are too brief.

In both matches this series, the partnership has failed to last the Power Play.

Waugh said that as promising as Fraser-McGurk is, the 22-year-old needs to find a better tempo when batting, citing his lack of respect for the superb delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi which trapped him LBW.

“It is probably a ball you should be defending. It probably deserved a bit of respect, that delivery,” Waugh said.

“It is a balancing act, isn’t it? He will be so frustrated. Sometimes when you see the ball so well early on, you do tend to relax. Sometimes that overconfidence can come back to bite you. We have all been there.”

Short, meanwhile, received a chance early on but failed to make the most of his second life when caught by Babar Azam off the bowling of Afridi.

‘WHY NOT?’ PAKISTAN QUICK EAGER TO END TEST DROUGHT

Rauf was at the peak of his considerable powers on Friday afternoon as he steamrolled the Australian middle order.

The Australians were in a steady position when Rauf was brought into the attack, with Smith and Inglis rebuilding the innings after the loss of Fraser-McGurk and Short.

However, Rauf turned the match on its head by ripping through Australia’s middle order in a blistering spell, sparking a collapse of 6-51 that all but sealed victory for the Pakistanis.

The 31-year-old produced an assortment of outswingers and bumpers to topple some of Australia’s best white-ball cricketers; Inglis gloved a delivery down the leg side, Marnus Lasbuschagne nicked behind, while Glenn Maxwell chopped back onto his stumps.

Rauf’s delivery to dismiss all-rounder Aaron Hardie was genuinely unplayable, nipping away on a good length and kissing the right-hander’s outside edge.

He finished with 5-29 from eight overs, the second-best bowling figures of his ODI career and the best performance by a Pakistani bowler at Adelaide Oval in the 50-over format.

Having played 22 matches with the Melbourne Stars in the BBL, also participating in grade cricket in Melbourne, Rauf is accustomed to Australian pitches, citing his prior Big Bash experience during the innings break.

Last summer, Rauf turn down selection for Pakistan’s Test tour of Australia so he could play Big Bash cricket with the Stars, a decision that caused a stir at the time. The tourists may have avoided a 3-0 series whitewash with the speedster at their disposal.

Asked if he’d like to add to his one Test cap, a loss to England in 2022, Rauf replied: “Why not?”

‘CAN’T AFFORD THAT’: AFRIDI’S UGLY CATCHING STAT

Shaheen Shah Afridi removed both of Australia’s openers during the Powerplay in a probing opening spell, but the Pakistan quick’s fielding has once again come under the microscope after a horror missed chance at Adelaide Oval.

Short was unbeaten on 8 when he top-edged a pull shot against pace bowler Naseem Shah during the fourth over, with the Kookaburra sailing towards Afridi at deep square leg.

But the 24-year-old put down the regulation chance, with the ball bursting through his fingers and rolling over the boundary rope for four.

Waugh, who was a superb slips fielder, was critical of the Pakistan bowler’s failure to get into position quickly enough.

“It beat him for pace and burst through his hands. You can’t drop those. He just wasn’t settled,” Waugh said.

According to the Fox Cricket statisticians, Afridi has dropped more chances than he has taken at ODI level, swallowing 11 catches while putting down 12.

“He’d like better stats than that. At this level against Australia, you don’t get many chances,” Waugh said.

Recently retired Test and ODI opener David Warner noted that Afridi’s feet were still movement as he tried to compensate for failing to get into position quickly enough.

“(They) can’t afford that. As a fast bowler as well, you don’t like being dropped off your own bowling,” he said.

Thankfully for Pakistan, Afridi redeemed himself later in the Powerplay by dismissing Short for 19, with the Australian opener carving a wide delivery towards point, where he was caught by Azam.

Rizwan, meanwhile, missed a chance at seven dismissals when grassing a skied opportunity in the latter stages of the Australian innings. Zampa, too, had a lamentable moment when dropping Ayub when the dashing opener was on 47 off the bowling of his captain Cummins.