Australia win three-Test series in Pakistan 1-0 after 115-run victory on day five of final game in Lahore; Nathan Lyon (5-83) and captain Pat Cummins (3-23) star at Gadaffi Stadium as Australia win a Test series in Pakistan for the third time, after previous triumphs in 1959 and 1998
Friday 25 March 2022 13:13, UK
Nathan Lyon took five wickets as Australia clinched a 1-0 series victory over Pakistan with a 115-run win on day five of the third and final Test in Lahore.
Pakistan, who resumed on 73-0 in a chase of 351, were all out for 235 in 92.1 overs as off-spinner Lyon took 5-83 and skipper Pat Cummins claimed 3-23, including the winning wicket when he cleaned up Naseem Shah (1).
The home side slipped to 167-5 only for captain Babar Azam (55) to keep his men in the hunt for a draw but he was then sixth man out, to Lyon, with the score on 213 and the hosts were bundled out 22 runs later.
Opener Imam-ul-Haq top-scored for Pakistan with 70 from 199 deliveries before he became one of Lyon's five victims.
Australia's Test series win was their third in Pakistan - after previous successes in 1959 and 1998 - and their first in Asia since they beat Sri Lanka in 2011, while it marked the first overseas series victory anywhere since 2016, when they triumphed in New Zealand.
The first two Tests, in Rawalpindi and Karachi respectively, ended in draws.
There was plenty of DRS drama on day five of the final Test, principally when Azhar Ali (17) was given out caught at slip on review.
The third umpire adjudged the spike on UltraEdge was bat on ball as Azhar swept Lyon but Azhar was convinced he had not hit the ball.
Pakistan batter Mohammad Rizwan was left to rue not calling for a review after being pinned lbw by the excellent Cummins for a six-ball duck, with the 29-year-old hit outside the line.
Australia made errors, too, not reviewing to have Babar caught at slip off Lyon and then dropping the Pakistan captain on 45 - Travis Head the guilty party at deep midwicket.
But that did not matter in the end for the tourists, who will now face Pakistan in three one-day internationals and one T20 international.
The first 50-over match takes place on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports from 10.55am.
