Pakistan captain Azhar Ali handed ban for slow over-rate against Australia

Pakistan one-day international captain Azhar Ali has been suspended for one contest and fined 40 percent of his match fee for the team's slow over-rate in Thursday's game against Australia, cricket's world governing body (ICC) has said.

Pakistan were ruled to be two overs short of their target during the 57-run loss in the fifth and final match of the series in Adelaide, the International Cricket Council said in a statement on Friday.

It was the 31-year-old Azhar's second slow over-rate offence in the last 12 months, leading to his suspension from Pakistan's next 50-over match, currently scheduled against West Indies in April. Azhar was also sanctioned during an ODI against New Zealand in Auckland on January 31 last year.

Players are fined 10 percent of their match fee while the captain is docked double the amount for every over a side is found to have failed to bowl in the allotted time, according to the ICC's code of conduct.

The South Asian side lost the series 4-1.