Australian cricket team in Pakistan in 2021–22
The Australian cricket team toured Pakistan in March and April 2022 to play three Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty20 International (T20I) match. The Test series formed part of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship, and the ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. It was Australia's first tour to Pakistan since 1998. The Test series was the first time that the teams played for the Benaud–Qadir Trophy, named after former international cricketers Richie Benaud and Abdul Qadir.
| Australian cricket team in Pakistan in 2021–22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | Australia | ||
| Dates | 4 March – 5 April 2022 | ||
| Captains | Babar Azam |
Pat Cummins (Tests) Aaron Finch (ODIs & T20I) | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | Australia won the 3-match series 1–0 | ||
| Most runs | Abdullah Shafique (397) | Usman Khawaja (496) | |
| Most wickets |
Shaheen Afridi (9) Nauman Ali (9) |
Pat Cummins (12) Nathan Lyon (12) | |
| Player of the series | Usman Khawaja (Aus) | ||
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | Pakistan won the 3-match series 2–1 | ||
| Most runs | Imam-ul-Haq (298) | Ben McDermott (195) | |
| Most wickets | Shaheen Afridi (6) | Adam Zampa (6) | |
| Player of the series | Babar Azam (Pak) | ||
| Twenty20 International series | |||
| Results | Australia won the 1-match series 1–0 | ||
| Most runs | Babar Azam (66) | Aaron Finch (55) | |
| Most wickets |
Shaheen Afridi (2) Usman Qadir (2) Mohammad Wasim (2) | Nathan Ellis (4) | |
The first Test ended in a draw, with the teams shaking hands before the scheduled close of play on day five. Across the match, Pakistan's aggregate score was 728 for 4, with Australia's Steve Smith saying that the wicket was "dead" and benign". The pitch was later rated as "below average" by match referee Ranjan Madugalle. The second Test also finished in a draw on the fifth day, after Australia had declared on 556/9 in their first innings, with Pakistan's Babar Azam scoring 196 runs in the fourth innings. Australia won the third Test by 115 runs in the final session of play on day five to win the series 1–0. It was Australia's first Test series win in Asia since 2011, and their first Test win in Asia since 2017.
Australia won the opening ODI match by 88 runs, after Travis Head scored a century. In the second match, Australia scored 348/8 from their 50 overs, with Ben McDermott scoring his first ODI century. In reply, Pakistan made 349/4 in 49 overs, with centuries from Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam, to record Pakistan's highest successful run chase in an ODI match. Pakistan won the third ODI by nine wickets to take the series 2–1, with Babar Azam scoring another century. It was Pakistan's first ODI series win against Australia since June 2002. Australia finished the tour by winning the one-off T20I match by three wickets.
The tour was deemed a success with former players from both teams praising the teams and requesting for more international cricket in Pakistan. Pakistan's Shahid Afridi said that "I hope other teams will follow their footsteps & visit Pakistan", with Shoaib Akhtar also saying that he was "glad the whole series with Australia went smooth". Australia's Shane Watson also said that the tour was "great thing for world cricket".