---
title: "Pakistan vs Australia: Records, Heroes and Unforgettable Matches"
description: "Pakistan vs Australia head-to-head records, World Cup results, greatest matches and key players, from Wahab’s Adelaide spell to the 2027 fixture."
url: https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/
date: 2026-10-18
modified: 2026-10-19
author: "WorldCupWatch Editorial Desk"
image: https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-lahore-archive.webp
categories: ["Stats and Records", "Cricket"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# Pakistan vs Australia: Records, Heroes and Unforgettable Matches

Pakistan had the runs on the board. Australia had a finisher still standing. If that sentence makes you think of two different World Cup semi-finals, you already know why this rivalry is so hard to switch off.

But Pakistan vs Australia is bigger than the nights that broke Pakistani hearts. It is also a last-wicket escape in Karachi, fast bowlers defending almost nothing, Younis Khan making hundreds look inevitable, and Babar Azam refusing to surrender a Test that seemed lost two days earlier.

Australia lead the overall head-to-head. Pakistan have won the last three bilateral ODI series between them. Both statements matter. One tells you how imposing Australia have been; the other explains why the next meeting deserves more than a prediction based on old trophies.

**The quick answer, as of 18 October 2026:** the teams have played 217 men’s internationals. Australia lead 7–4 in ODI World Cups and 4–3 in T20 World Cups. Their next announced ODI World Cup meeting is in Paarl on 22 October 2027.

Cover: Pakistan–Australia, third ODI, Lahore, 2 April 2022. Photo: [Ahmed Abdulbasit](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ausvspak_2022.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Table of Contents

[Toggle](#)

- [Adelaide, 2015: Wahab, Watson and the catch that would not stick](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Adelaide_2015_Wahab_Watson_and_the_catch_that_would_not_stick)
- [St Lucia, 2010: eighteen needed and Hussey still there](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#St_Lucia_2010_eighteen_needed_and_Hussey_still_there)
- [Dubai, 2021: a dropped catch and three Wade sixes](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Dubai_2021_a_dropped_catch_and_three_Wade_sixes)
- [Three Pakistan wins that changed the mood](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Three_Pakistan_wins_that_changed_the_mood)
- [Karachi, 2022: Babar refuses to let the match end](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Karachi_2022_Babar_refuses_to_let_the_match_end)
- [Pakistan vs Australia head-to-head: who has won more?](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Pakistan_vs_Australia_head-to-head_who_has_won_more)
- [ODI World Cup results: the final, the streak and the replies](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#ODI_World_Cup_results_the_final_the_streak_and_the_replies)
- [T20 World Cup results: seven games and two unforgettable semi-finals](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#T20_World_Cup_results_seven_games_and_two_unforgettable_semi-finals)
- [Previous matches: the latest Pakistan vs Australia results](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Previous_matches_the_latest_Pakistan_vs_Australia_results)
- [Player records: the names that keep returning](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Player_records_the_names_that_keep_returning)
- [Pakistan vs Australia World Cup 2027: dates and venues](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Pakistan_vs_Australia_World_Cup_2027_dates_and_venues)
- [Who is favourite, and how can Pakistan change the prediction?](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Who_is_favourite_and_how_can_Pakistan_change_the_prediction)
- [Pakistan vs Australia questions fans ask](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-australia/#Pakistan_vs_Australia_questions_fans_ask)

## Adelaide, 2015: Wahab, Watson and the catch that would not stick

![Shane Watson batting during the Australia–Pakistan T20I series in 2012.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-watson-archive.webp)*Shane Watson, 2012. Photo: [Bilal Mirza](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shane_Watson_2012.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0).*

Pakistan were defending 213 in a World Cup quarter-final. Against Australia. In Australia. It was hardly a position from which to make the home crowd nervous.

Then Wahab Riaz took the ball, and the match became something far less comfortable than a routine chase. David Warner went for 24. Michael Clarke followed for eight. At 59 for three, Australia still had the better position, but Pakistan had found the one thing a modest total needed: uncertainty.

Shane Watson’s problem was no longer simply how to score. It was how to survive a passage of bowling in which the next short ball seemed to arrive before he had quite recovered from the previous one. Wahab kept coming, Watson kept fending, and every delivery drew the fielders and the crowd further into their duel.

The chance arrived with Watson on four. A hurried pull went towards fine leg. Rahat Ali was underneath it. For a moment, Pakistan could see Australia’s middle order exposed and the quarter-final beginning to tilt.

The ball went down.

That is the image Pakistan supporters still carry from Adelaide: the wicket Wahab had worked so fiercely to create, suspended for a second before it disappeared. Watson survived the spell, then survived the match. His unbeaten 64 helped Australia win by six wickets.

> “I was lucky to get through that spell.”
> Shane Watson, reflecting on Wahab Riaz at Adelaide, 2015

Watson’s acknowledgement matters because this was never only a story about a missed catch. It was also about a batter finding a way through extreme pressure. Steve Smith’s 65 and Glenn Maxwell’s unbeaten 44 then made Australia’s depth count. Earlier, Josh Hazlewood’s four wickets had restricted Pakistan to a score that demanded something extraordinary from their bowlers.

Wahab gave them a spell worthy of a different ending. Australia gave a reminder of how difficult they were to finish off. Watch the sequence again and the scorecard almost becomes background noise: the fascination is in the contest between two players who know exactly what the other is trying to do.

The ICC’s original archive clip below captures that confrontation. Its [review of the 2015 World Cup’s defining moments](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/cwc-15-in-review-14-magic-moments) also returns to Wahab’s spell.

## St Lucia, 2010: eighteen needed and Hussey still there

![Michael Hussey working at Perth Stadium in December 2022.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-hussey-archive.webp)*Michael Hussey at Perth Stadium, 2022. Photo: [Calistemon](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michael_Hussey_at_Perth_Stadium,_First_Test_Australia_versus_West_Indies,_2_December_2022_01.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).*

Pakistan had already done the exciting part. Kamran Akmal made 50, Umar Akmal struck an unbeaten 56, and 191 for six looked like a total that could carry the defending champions into another T20 World Cup final.

Australia lost wickets. The asking rate rose. The sensible route to victory grew narrower. Pakistan could see the finish line, but Michael Hussey was still batting, and that was the detail that would not go away.

Hussey did not need the entire chase to look manageable. He needed the next ball to have somewhere to go. Boundaries against the pace bowlers kept a seemingly unreasonable pursuit alive long enough for it to reach Saeed Ajmal’s final over.

Eighteen runs were required from six deliveries. Mitchell Johnson took a single from the first. Now it was 17 from five, Hussey on strike, Ajmal with the ball, and Pakistan one decent over from the final.

Six. Six. Four.

The equation had collapsed to one run from two balls. In commentary, Harsha Bhogle put the sudden simplicity of the task into four words:

> “A single will do.”
> [Harsha Bhogle, before the winning delivery in the 2010 semi-final](https://www.icc-cricket.com/videos/michael-hussey-saves-australia-fancraze-men-s-t20-world-cup-greatest-moments)

Hussey hit another six instead. Australia won by three wickets with a ball remaining. He finished unbeaten on 60 from 24 deliveries, and a match Pakistan had controlled for so long belonged to Australia.

There is a temptation to remember that final over as a sudden disaster, detached from everything before it. The more revealing detail is how long Hussey had kept the possibility of that over alive. Pakistan were taking wickets; he was still finding boundaries. Each small escape bought the next chance.

For Pakistan, the pain was that the batting had been good enough and the finish had been within reach. For Australia, it was a lesson in the value of a specialist finisher who keeps calculating after everyone else has begun looking at the required rate in disbelief.

The [ICC’s Hussey archive](https://www.icc-cricket.com/videos/michael-hussey-saves-australia-fancraze-men-s-t20-world-cup-greatest-moments) lets you relive the ending. Its [collection of classic semi-finals](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/the-best-of-the-semi-final-encounters) explains why St Lucia keeps returning whenever these teams meet.

## Dubai, 2021: a dropped catch and three Wade sixes

![Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade in October 2011.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-wade-archive.webp)*Matthew Wade, 2011. Photo: [NAPARAZZI](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MATTHEW_WADE_%286310551537%29.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0).*

Eleven years later, Pakistan supporters found themselves watching a familiar shape emerge from a very different match.

This time the score was 176 for four. Mohammad Rizwan’s 67 had supplied the base, and Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 55 from 32 balls had given Pakistan the late acceleration they needed. Australia then slipped to 96 for five, with Shadab Khan taking four for 26. Pakistan had the wickets, the momentum and a place in the final within sight.

Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis had other plans. Their partnership did not remove the pressure in one grand gesture. It chipped away at it, turning a difficult chase into a finish in which one expensive over could settle everything.

Australia needed 22 from the final two overs. Shaheen Shah Afridi was entrusted with the nineteenth. Wade offered a chance, Hasan Ali could not hold it, and the delivery that might have changed the ending became another of this rivalry’s painful what-ifs.

Then came three consecutive sixes. Wade attacked Shaheen, Australia won with six balls to spare, and Pakistan’s unbeaten tournament had ended one step before the final. Wade’s 41 not out from 17 balls and Stoinis’s unbeaten 40 were the figures left behind.

> “It’s confidence, confidence in your ability to finish the game.”
> [Matthew Wade, after the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/wade-and-stoinis-bring-back-memories-of-hussey-in-late-flourish)

The catch understandably dominates conversation. It should not be allowed to erase the rest of the contest. Shadab had produced a magnificent spell. Rizwan and Fakhar had put Pakistan in a winning position. Stoinis had helped Wade stay close enough for the late attack to work. A semi-final is shaped by many contributions before one incident becomes its shorthand.

There was another strange moment earlier: David Warner walked after an appeal for a catch behind, although replays showed no contact with the bat. He had made 49. In a match later remembered for the chance Australia received, they had also lost an important batter to a dismissal that could have been reviewed.

That is what makes Dubai so absorbing on a second viewing. The outcome feels brutally simple; the route to it was anything but. The [ICC match report](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/wade-and-stoinis-stun-pakistan-as-australia-reach-final) follows those turning points, while its [semi-final review](https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/wade-completes-brilliant-chase-to-send-australia-into-the-final) records Australia’s extraordinary finish.

## Three Pakistan wins that changed the mood

![Mohammad Amir training in Sydney in 2010.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/mohammad-amir-training-2010-archive.webp)*Mohammad Amir training in Sydney, 2010. Photo: [NAPARAZZI](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MOHAMMAD_AMIR.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0).*

If the Australian finishes are the only chapters you read, you miss half the attraction. Pakistan have repeatedly found ways to disturb Australia’s sense of control. These three victories did it in completely different ways.

**Karachi, 1994: one wicket left, 57 runs still needed.** Chasing 314, Pakistan reached a point at which a single mistake would end the match. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed kept going. What began as a last partnership became a serious threat; what looked like a nearly completed Australian win turned into a finish nobody could sit comfortably through.

With three needed, Shane Warne beat Inzamam. Ian Healy had a stumping chance. The ball escaped, four byes settled the contest, and Pakistan won by one wicket. Inzamam remained unbeaten on 58, Mushtaq on 20, their unbroken stand worth 57. It was a win that depended as much on refusing to disappear as on the winning stroke that never actually came.

**Headingley, 2010: the fast bowlers make 88 feel enormous.** Pakistan bowled Australia out for 88 in their first innings. Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul gave the match an entirely different rhythm from the high-scoring encounters fans often associate with these teams. The movement, the uncertainty and the possibility of another wicket made every Australian run feel earned.

Even then, the finish was uncomfortable. Pakistan needed 180 and lost seven wickets getting there. Gul completed the winning run, and a three-wicket victory ended Pakistan’s sequence of 13 consecutive Test defeats against Australia. After so many meetings in which Australia had found the extra margin, Pakistan finally kept it for themselves.

**The UAE, 2014: Pakistan do not escape; they dominate.** Younis Khan made three centuries across the two Tests, including 213 in Abu Dhabi. Misbah-ul-Haq added a century from 56 balls, then the joint-fastest in Test history. Australia were beaten by 221 runs in Dubai and 356 in Abu Dhabi.

That 2–0 series was satisfying for a different reason. There was no need to wait for a dropped catch or a last pair to survive. Pakistan’s senior batters set the terms, their bowlers applied the pressure, and Australia could not find a way to change the story. For supporters accustomed to dramatic near-misses, the authority of those wins was its own reward.

The [ICC’s 2014 series review](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/pakistan-v-australia-series-review-in-numbers) and its account of [Misbah and Younis’s milestones](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/misbah-younus-pakistans-milestone-men) capture the scale of that batting performance.

## Karachi, 2022: Babar refuses to let the match end

![Babar Azam batting against Sri Lanka at the SSC ground in Colombo in July 2023.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-babar-archive.webp)*Babar Azam facing Asitha Fernando, Colombo, 2023. Photo: [Nazly Ahmed](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asitha_Fernando_vs_Babar_Azam,_Colombo_2023.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).*

Pakistan’s first innings lasted 148 runs. Australia’s target for them was 506. By the time Babar Azam arrived in the fourth innings, Pakistan were 21 for two and the most obvious question was how long the resistance could last.

The answer was long enough to turn survival into the day’s main event.

Babar batted for 425 deliveries and made 196. Abdullah Shafique’s 96 helped carry the innings through its most demanding early stretch. Then Mohammad Rizwan made an unbeaten 104, ensuring that the effort did not depend on one batter’s concentration alone.

Karachi’s tension came from the different ways the teams were watching the same clock. For Australia, each quiet over was an opportunity slipping away. For Pakistan, it was another piece of the match rescued. A defensive shot that would have passed unnoticed on the first morning could draw real relief on the fifth afternoon.

Babar fell four short of a double-century, and the late wickets reopened the match. The draw still had to be protected. Rizwan saw Pakistan to 443 for seven after 171.4 overs, leaving Australia three wickets short.

It was not a Pakistan victory, and it does not need to be dressed up as one. The achievement was that a side dismissed for 148 had made Australia work through almost two days without finishing the job. Babar’s innings changed what the match was remembered for.

The distinction is useful when discussing this rivalry’s greatest performances. A spectacular innings can matter even when it does not win a trophy or a Test. Sometimes the lasting memory is a captain declining to let an overwhelming position become an easy result.

Read the [ICC’s report of the Karachi draw](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/brilliant-babar-rizwan-tons-secure-thrilling-draw-in-karachi) alongside its [account of Australia’s tactics](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/cummins-stands-by-australia-tactics-after-karachi-draw): the same finish looks very different from each dressing room.

## Pakistan vs Australia head-to-head: who has won more?

![A panoramic view of the MCG during the Pakistan–Australia Test in the 2009–10 season.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-mcg-archive.webp)*Pakistan–Australia Test at the MCG, 2009–10. Photo: [zoonabar](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melbourne_Cricket_Ground,_Day4_Pakistan_vs_Aussies,_2009-10.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0).*

**Australia have won more matches overall.** Across men’s Tests, ODIs and T20Is through 18 October 2026, the teams have met 217 times. Australia’s strongest advantages are in Tests and one-day internationals; the T20 contest is much closer.

| Format | Matches | Pakistan wins | Australia wins | Draws | Ties | No results |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tests | 72 | 15 | 37 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| ODIs | 114 | 38 | 72 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| T20Is | 31 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 217 | 68 | 123 | 20 | 2 | 4 |

Pakistan also won the Super Over after the tied T20I in 2012. Including that tie-break victory gives Pakistan a 16–14 lead in T20I match outcomes.

The contrast between formats helps explain why arguments about the rivalry often seem to be happening at cross-purposes. An Australian supporter thinking of Test tours sees a commanding record. A Pakistani supporter thinking of T20 cricket sees a contest their side has frequently controlled. Both are looking at a real part of the history.

For the next ODI World Cup meeting, the 72–38 ODI advantage is relevant background. It is not a forecast by itself. Conditions, selection and current form will decide far more than matches played by previous generations. Pakistan’s recent series wins are a particularly good reason to read the full record rather than stopping at the biggest number.

## ODI World Cup results: the final, the streak and the replies

![Shane Warne at the Fill the Basin charity cricket match in Wellington in March 2011.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-warne-archive.webp)*Shane Warne at the Fill the Basin charity match, 2011. Photo: [Kylie & Rob (and Helen)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shane_Warne_%28March,_2011%29.jpg) · [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).*

Australia lead Pakistan **7–4 in men’s ODI World Cups**. The eleven meetings include a final, a semi-final, a quarter-final and a Pakistani victory that ended one of the tournament’s great unbeaten runs.

| Date | Venue | Winner | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 7 June 1975 | Leeds | Australia | 73 runs |
| 9 June 1979 | Leeds | Pakistan | 89 runs |
| 4 November 1987 | Lahore | Australia | 18 runs |
| 11 March 1992 | Perth | Pakistan | 48 runs |
| 23 May 1999 | Leeds | Pakistan | 10 runs |
| 20 June 1999 | Lord’s | Australia | 8 wickets |
| 11 February 2003 | Johannesburg | Australia | 82 runs |
| 19 March 2011 | Colombo | Pakistan | 4 wickets |
| 20 March 2015 | Adelaide | Australia | 6 wickets |
| 12 June 2019 | Taunton | Australia | 41 runs |
| 20 October 2023 | Bengaluru | Australia | 62 runs |

**Lord’s, 1999, remains the hardest result to separate from the rivalry.** Pakistan had beaten Australia in the group stage and arrived in the final with a side capable of winning the tournament. Instead, they were dismissed for 132. Warne took four for 33, Australia chased with eight wickets to spare, and a day Pakistan had waited for became an Australian celebration.

It is easy to let the final swallow the earlier meeting. That would miss something important: Pakistan had already shown they could beat the eventual champions. The disappointment was so sharp precisely because this was a team with a believable route to the trophy. The [ICC’s 1999 final retrospective](https://www.icc-cricket.com/tournaments/cricketworldcup/news/on-this-day-australia-win-cwc99) revisits the day Australia took control.

**Colombo, 2011, supplied a long-awaited reply.** Pakistan’s four-wicket win ended Australia’s 34-match unbeaten run in World Cups. The significance went beyond the points: a run that had stretched back to 1999 finally met a Pakistan side that would not let the familiar ending happen again.

The most recent ODI World Cup meeting, in Bengaluru in 2023, showed a different Australian strength. David Warner made 163, Mitchell Marsh 121, and their opening stand reached 259. Pakistan were beaten by 62 runs. Yet Shaheen’s five for 54 also belongs in the story: even on a day when Australia’s openers threatened to take the game far out of reach, Pakistan had a bowler capable of changing the pace of the innings.

## T20 World Cup results: seven games and two unforgettable semi-finals

![Mohammad Rizwan pictured in 2021.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/mohammad-rizwan-2021-portrait.webp)*Mohammad Rizwan, 2021. Photo: [SmiletoJannah](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mohammad_Rizwan.png) · [CC BY 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).*

Australia lead **4–3 in men’s T20 World Cups**. That small gap feels much larger in Pakistan because two Australian wins came in semi-finals that Pakistan were well placed to win.

| Date | Venue | Winner | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 18 September 2007 | Johannesburg | Pakistan | 6 wickets |
| 2 May 2010 | Gros Islet | Australia | 34 runs |
| 14 May 2010 | Gros Islet | Australia | 3 wickets |
| 2 October 2012 | Colombo | Pakistan | 32 runs |
| 23 March 2014 | Mirpur | Pakistan | 16 runs |
| 25 March 2016 | Mohali | Australia | 21 runs |
| 11 November 2021 | Dubai | Australia | 5 wickets |

Pakistan’s victories deserve space alongside Hussey and Wade. In the inaugural tournament in 2007, they beat Australia on their way to the final. In 2012 and 2014, they won by defending totals, reminders that Australia’s finishing reputation has never made them immune to Pakistan’s bowling.

The two 2010 meetings are a useful warning against treating one World Cup result as the whole story. Australia won the group match by 34 runs. The semi-final was a different contest, with Pakistan’s batting putting them in a position from which they could reasonably expect to advance. Hussey changed that expectation; he did not make Pakistan’s performance disappear.

There was no Pakistan–Australia meeting at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Their three T20Is in Lahore immediately before that tournament were a bilateral series, separate from the World Cup record. Those games matter for recent form, but the tournament head-to-head remains seven matches.

## Previous matches: the latest Pakistan vs Australia results

![Spectators watching Pakistan play Australia in the third ODI at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, in April 2022.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-lahore-archive.webp)*Pakistan–Australia, third ODI, Lahore, 2 April 2022. Photo: [Ahmed Abdulbasit](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ausvspak_2022.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).*

If your last memory is Wade in Dubai or Warner in Bengaluru, the recent results may surprise you. Pakistan swept the January–February 2026 T20I series 3–0 and then won the May–June ODI series 2–1. Both series were played in Pakistan.

| Date | Format and venue | Scores | Result |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 4 June 2026 | ODI, Lahore | Australia 157; Pakistan 161/6 | Pakistan won by 4 wickets |
| 2 June 2026 | ODI, Lahore | Australia 231/9; Pakistan 190 | Australia won by 41 runs |
| 30 May 2026 | ODI, Rawalpindi | Australia 200; Pakistan 202/5 | Pakistan won by 5 wickets |
| 1 February 2026 | T20I, Lahore | Pakistan 207/6; Australia 96 | Pakistan won by 111 runs |
| 31 January 2026 | T20I, Lahore | Pakistan 198/5; Australia 108 | Pakistan won by 90 runs |
| 29 January 2026 | T20I, Lahore | Pakistan 168/8; Australia 146/8 | Pakistan won by 22 runs |

The ODI series began with a memorable debut. Arafat Minhas took five wickets in Rawalpindi, and Pakistan won their thousandth ODI by five wickets. Australia replied in the second game, with Nathan Ellis taking four wickets and Matthew Short three in a 41-run win.

The decider was closer than Australia’s 157 might suggest. Pakistan needed a steady finish, and Abdul Samad and Shadab Khan supplied it with an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 49. A four-wicket win made it three consecutive bilateral ODI series victories against Australia, following 2–1 wins in 2022 and 2024.

The 2024 success carries particular weight because it happened in Australia. Pakistan lost the opening ODI in Melbourne, then won convincingly in Adelaide and Perth to take their first ODI series there since 2002. Haris Rauf’s ten wickets across the series turned pressure with the ball into a result that had eluded several Pakistan sides before them. The [ICC’s report of that historic series win](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/rizwan-begins-captaincy-stint-with-historic-odi-series-win-over-australia?appview=true) captures why it meant so much.

The latest T20I sweep was more emphatic. The margins grew from 22 runs to 90 and then 111. Mohammad Nawaz took five for 18 in the final game, while Babar and Saim Ayub both made fifties.

These results do not erase Australia’s World Cup record. They do give Pakistan a current argument of their own: this is a matchup in which their bowlers have recently created winning positions and their batters have completed enough chases to make those positions count.

## Player records: the names that keep returning

![Wasim Akram speaking at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai in 2018.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-wasim-archive.webp)*Wasim Akram, Dubai, 2018. Photo: [Fuzheado](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wasim-akram-gesf-2018-7878.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).*

Ask who has scored the most runs between Pakistan and Australia and the first question should be: in which format? Javed Miandad leads the Test rivalry. Ricky Ponting leads the ODI run list. Babar Azam heads the T20I list.

**Leading ODI run-scorers in Pakistan–Australia matches**

| Player | Team | Matches | Runs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 35 | 1,107 |
| Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 35 | 1,019 |
| Mohammad Yousuf | Pakistan | 29 | 1,016 |
| Steve Waugh | Australia | 43 | 1,003 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 34 | 991 |

Those numbers capture very different ways of surviving this fixture. Miandad made opponents work for every dismissal. Yousuf could make a demanding attack look easier to negotiate than it really was. Ponting’s place at the top reflects the sustained value of a batter who so often made Australia’s strongest sides harder to contain.

Babar has 811 ODI runs against Australia in 16 matches, averaging 62.38. That is an important record for Pakistan’s next meeting, although an average cannot promise how any one innings will unfold. His Test 196 in Karachi and his white-ball record show two different versions of the same responsibility: keeping Pakistan’s batting from becoming hurried by Australian pressure.

**Leading ODI wicket-takers in the rivalry**

| Bowler | Team | Wickets | Best figures |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 67 | 5/21 |
| Glenn McGrath | Australia | 57 | 5/27 |
| Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | 49 | 6/38 |
| Brett Lee | Australia | 38 | 4/28 |
| Shane Warne | Australia | 37 | 4/33 |

Wasim’s 67 wickets put a Pakistani fast bowler at the top of the ODI list. McGrath’s 57 came at an average of 19.10, illustrating how often Australia could rely on pressure without giving away the release a batter wanted. Afridi’s 49 offer another reminder that Pakistan’s answers have not always come from pace.

Among players relevant to future selection, Shaheen has 28 ODI wickets against Australia in ten matches, averaging 14.75. His best of five for 54 came in the 2023 World Cup. Haris Rauf has 22 wickets from ten ODIs against them; Adam Zampa has 25 from 16. Those are useful records when considering matchups, rather than assuming every advantage belongs to the better-known batting names.

In Tests, Miandad’s 1,797 runs lead Allan Border’s 1,666. Warne leads the wicket-taking with 90, followed by McGrath with 80. In T20Is, Babar has 506 runs against Australia; David Warner made 397 against Pakistan.

These records are through 18 October 2026. Their value is in giving the stories scale: the spell or innings you remember was one chapter in years of repeated contests, adjustments and second chances.

## Pakistan vs Australia World Cup 2027: dates and venues

![Boland Park cricket ground in Paarl during South Africa versus Pakistan in December 2024.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-paarl-archive.webp)*Boland Park, South Africa–Pakistan ODI, 17 December 2024. Photo: [Jshecket](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boland_Park_Cricket_Ground.jpg) · [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).*

The next announced ODI World Cup meeting is **Australia vs Pakistan in Paarl, South Africa, on Friday 22 October 2027**. It is a group-stage fixture in the ICC’s published schedule.

| Stage | Date | Venue | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Group stage | 22 October 2027 | Paarl, South Africa | Scheduled Australia vs Pakistan fixture |
| Super Seven | 13 November 2027 | Bloemfontein, South Africa | Conditional: both must qualify in the scheduled A2/A3 slots |

The possible second meeting is conditional. The schedule lists Australia’s A2 slot against Pakistan’s A3 slot in Bloemfontein, but neither team can take a Super Seven place for granted. The confirmed group fixture is the date to put in your calendar first.

Start times are not specified in the published fixture list used for this article. Pakistan and India viewing times will be added when the ICC confirms the match time. Squads and final playing elevens are also still to be announced.

Paarl gives the rivalry a fresh setting: no home crowd advantage for either team, a South African venue, and a World Cup table that will give the result consequences beyond the head-to-head. Pakistan will bring the recent bilateral argument. Australia will bring the weight of their tournament history. By then, the important question will be which side can turn those strengths into a performance on the day.

Check the [official ICC fixture announcement](https://www.icc-cricket.com/tournaments/icc-cricket-world-cup-2027/news/fixture-schedule-announced-for-icc-men-s-cricket-world-cup-2027) and our [Cricket World Cup 2027 guide](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/cricket-world-cup-2027/) for the wider tournament schedule.

## Who is favourite, and how can Pakistan change the prediction?

![Pat Cummins batting during the Boxing Day Ashes Test at the MCG in December 2021.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-cummins-archive.webp)*Pat Cummins batting at the MCG, December 2021. Photo: [Neb](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pat_Cummins_batting_in_boxing_day_test_2021.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).*

**Our early editorial view gives Australia a slight edge for a neutral-venue ODI World Cup meeting.** Their depth and history of handling knockout pressure justify that starting point. Pakistan’s three consecutive ODI series wins against them make this a competitive prediction rather than an automatic Australian selection.

It is too early for a firm match forecast. The 2027 squads, available bowlers, pitch and recent form could all change the balance. There are no bookmaker odds or invented win percentages behind this assessment. The useful work now is identifying the contests that could move it.

**Shaheen against Australia’s opening pair.** If Travis Head is selected, Pakistan cannot afford to let his aggression turn the first powerplay into damage limitation. Shaheen’s early wickets could force Australia to build rather than simply accelerate. Equally, Australia will know that seeing off his best opening spell can change the demands on Pakistan’s remaining attack.

**Babar against Zampa in the middle overs.** If both play, this could decide whether Pakistan’s innings has a platform for a finish or a long stretch of recovery. Babar’s task would be to keep the strike moving without giving the leg-spinner the wicket that exposes a new batter. Australia would want to make him manufacture boundaries before Pakistan have enough batting security to take that risk.

**Pakistan’s supporting batters against sustained pace.** Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan are names to watch if selected, but the principle matters more than an early probable eleven. Pakistan need contributions around their established players. A promising start loses value if a cluster of wickets leaves the finish entirely dependent on one survivor.

**The final ten overs in both innings.** Hussey and Wade are reminders of what can happen when Australia reach the closing stages with a capable finisher still there. Pakistan’s answer has to include catching, clear boundary fields and enough bowling options to react when the original plan stops working. Their own finish needs the same clarity: which batter is taking the risk, and who is making sure the innings does not stall?

Australia’s potential attack also demands respect. Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Zampa, if selected and available, offer different kinds of pressure. Pakistan will need to score through the quieter overs rather than waiting for every release to come from a boundary.

The forecast becomes more interesting when expressed as a route to victory. Australia would want a controlled new-ball spell, regular middle-over wickets and batting depth available late. Pakistan would want early wickets, a substantial top-order partnership and the discipline to complete the chances their bowlers create. Neither route requires a miracle. Both require execution when the match becomes uncomfortable.

## Pakistan vs Australia questions fans ask

![Shaheen Shah Afridi in the field during Pakistan’s Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2023.](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pakistan-australia-shaheen-archive.webp)*Shaheen Shah Afridi fielding in Colombo, 2023. Photo: [Nazly Ahmed](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaheen_Shah_Afridi_vs_Sri_Lanka_2023_second_Test_%28cropped_1%29.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).*

**Who has won more matches between Pakistan and Australia?** Australia lead across men’s internationals. Through 18 October 2026, they have 123 outright wins to Pakistan’s 68 in 217 matches. Pakistan also won the Super Over after the tied 2012 T20I.

**How many ODI World Cup matches have they played?** Eleven. Australia have won seven and Pakistan four. Their only ODI World Cup final against each other was at Lord’s in 1999, won by Australia.

**Who leads in T20 World Cups?** Australia lead 4–3 from seven meetings. Their semi-final wins in 2010 and 2021 are the two finishes most closely associated with the rivalry’s late drama.

**Who won their most recent match?** Pakistan won the third ODI in Lahore on 4 June 2026 by four wickets, completing a 2–1 series victory. That is their latest completed senior men’s international against Australia as of this article’s update date.

**Who are the key players for the next meeting?** Babar and Shaheen are central names for Pakistan; Head and Zampa offer important potential Australian matchups. Selection and availability will decide the final list. Historical stars such as Wasim, Warne and Hussey belong in the rivalry’s story, rather than a future probable eleven.

**When is Pakistan vs Australia at the 2027 World Cup?** The announced group match is on 22 October 2027 in Paarl. A possible Super Seven meeting in Bloemfontein on 13 November depends on both teams qualifying in the scheduled slots.

**Another rivalry worth revisiting:** [Pakistan vs England](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/pakistan-vs-england/) follows Wasim’s two-ball spell, the two Melbourne finals, Pakistan’s spin comeback and the records behind the next ODI.

Keep exploring with our [India vs Pakistan rivalry story](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/india-vs-pakistan/), the [India vs Pakistan World Cup 2027 preview](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/india-vs-pakistan-world-cup-2027/) and the latest guides in our [cricket hub](https://www.worldcupwatch.live/cricket/).

Which moment would you replay first: Wahab making Watson fight for every ball, Hussey overturning the final-over equation, or Pakistan finally ending Australia’s World Cup unbeaten run? Tell us in the comments—and tell us which Pakistan vs Australia memory belongs in the next update.