Travis Head capped a remarkable return to limited over cricket with a fiery century before taking two wickets to anchor Australia's thumping 88-run victory over Pakistan in the first day-night international in Lahore on Tuesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Head's 72-ball 101 guided Australia to a challenging 313-7 before the 28-year-old turned his arm over for 2-35 to bowl Pakistan out for 225 in 45.2 overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa also starred with the ball, taking 4-38 in ten probing overs, also completing 100 wickets in 65th ODI.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The victory gives Australia a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, their tenth successive ODI win over Pakistan since January 2017.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Opener Imam-ul-Haq hit a fighting 96-ball 103 while skipper Babar Azam made a 72-ball 57 but with the asking rate hovering around 9.5 Australia were never in doubt of victory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Haq hit six boundaries and three sixes in his eighth one-day international century but was bowled by paceman Nathan Ellis in the 39th over with 110 needed off 66 balls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Haq added 96 with Azam for the second wicket after opener Fakhar Zaman fell for 18 and another 38 with Khushdil Shah (19) for the sixth wicket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Azam, who hit six boundaries in his knock, became the second-fastest batter to complete 4,000 ODI runs in 82 innings, one more than South African Hashim Amla's record.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Azam was trapped leg-before wicket by Mitchell Swepson in the 25th over before Head dismissed Saud Shakil (three) and Iftikhar Ahmed (three) to further jolt Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Zampa finished with the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan (ten), Hasan Ali (two), Mohammad Wasim (nought) and Khushdil.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australian skipper Aaron Finch said the plan was to put a good total.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We felt we needed 300 plus total and that was made easy by Travis scoring a hundred," said Finch. "I am really proud of the way the guys played having no experience of these conditions."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Azam said his dismissal was the turning point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We gave some extra runs," said Azam. "I had a good partnership with Haq but when I felt we lost our grip and the chase became difficult."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier, Head knocked his second one-day international hundred and Ben McDermott hit a career-best 55 from 70 balls after Australia were sent in to bat by Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Head, playing his first ODI since November 2018, cracked 12 boundaries and three sixes and put on 110 for the opening wicket with Finch who made 23.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Head took a single off spinner Iftikhar to reach three figures off 70 balls, the fastest ODI century by an Australian against Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He beat David Warner's record from 78 balls in Adelaide in 2017.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With the score at 209-2 in the 33rd over, Pakistan pulled back with three wickets for just 21 runs in the space of 39 balls, dismissing McDermott, Marnus Labuschagne (25) and Alex Carey (four).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cameron Green (40 not out), Marcus Stoinis (26) and Sean Abbott (14) helped Australia score 50 in the last five overs and get past the 300-mark.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Green hit three boundaries and a six in his 30-ball knock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For Pakistan, pacer Haris Rauf took 2-44 and debutant leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood finished with 2-59.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia, already missing key players such as Warner, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc for multiple reasons, were further depleted after spinner Ashton Agar tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n