Steve Smith special guides Australia to series lead

Steve Smith anchored Australia's chase with free-flowing 80. © Getty

Steve Smith neutralised the impact of Pakistan captain Babar Azam and big-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed (62 off 36) - even beating the Pakistan captain to the shot of the match - to guide the hosts to a seven-wicket win in Canberra. A contrasting middle-overs performance with the bat cost Pakistan the game, despite the sort of start Azam provided and the manner in which Iftikhar finished things off in the first innings. In the end, Smith's undefeated 80 off 51 balls helped Australia overcome Pakistan's 150/6 with seven wickets and nine balls to spare.

Babar Azam got a 38-ball 50. He must've given Pakistan a good start?

He did.

There was an early contender for the shot of the game - later usurped during a Steve Smith special - when he went forward early to a Mitchell Starc ball that was slightly short, and still managed to drive it exquisitely through cover for four. He began with a lot of confidence, taking on right-armer Kane Richardson and forcing Aaron Finch to use extra protection on the off-side ring.

Why did Pakistan only get 32 in the PowerPlay then?

Because there was no support for the skipper. A woefully out-of-sorts Fakhar Zaman came into the fixture with an average of nine in his previous 11 innings, and didn't do anything to improve that sorry figure. Azam kept him off strike for majority of the first three overs and took up the task of playing his shots to allow the left-hander to ease himself in. But Zaman chose to go for broke in search of runs and ended up mistiming the seventh ball he faced - hitting to David Warner at mid-off - and trudging back for just two runs.

Haris Sohail put in a repeat telecast of his dismissal from Sydney - backing away to the leg side to pull a short ball. This time too, the ball flew off the leading edge, giving Kane Richardson one of the most straightforward catches off his own bowling.

The two breakthroughs put a spanner in the works for Pakistan and ensured Australia kept up their excellent PowerPlay output for 2019 - of picking at least two wickets and not over 41 runs.

How crucial was the performance in the middle overs?

It was eventually the difference maker.

While Pakistan went from 32 for 2 in 6 overs to 62 for 3 in 10 and 83 for 4 in 14, Australia waltzed through, going from 48 for 2 to 86 for 2 to 109 for 3 in the 6th, 10 and 14th overs respectively. Pakistan did well to put a lid on David Warner's early onslaught by dismissing him and his opening partner, but a partnership for the third wicket between Smith and Ben McDermott - worth 58 runs - meant Pakistan were never able to completely turn the tables on the home side.

Ashton Agar (2 for 23 in 4 overs) was at the helm of Australia's middle-over impact, taking out Mohammad Rizwan and the big-hitting Asif Ali in the space of two overs, that saw Azam swiftly running out of partners. On the other hand, Smith was ably supported by McDermott (21 off 22) and then by Ashton Turner to ease Australia through the chase.