By Jawad Hussain
KARACHI (TheSportsNext) September 4, 2012: Australia showed better nerves to defeat Pakistan by three wickets to clinch the three-match One Day International series by 2-1, thanks to a brilliant unbeaten half century by all-rounder Glenn Maxwell at Sharjah Cricket Ground on late Monday.
Australian skipper Michael Clarke won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat first as he was afraid of bowling with a wet ball in the evening which proved costly the other evening.
Pakistani opening pair right-hand batsman Mohammad Hafeez (78 from 97 – 4 fours, 2 sixes) and left-hand batsman Nasir Jamshed (48 from 75 – 6 fours) got the home team off to a solid start with a 129-run partnership from just 159 balls thus establishing a perfect launch-pad for the strong hitters in the middle order.
However, once the opening partnership was broken, Pakistan started digging their own grave as a promising decision by skipper Misbah-ul-Haq to promote “all-rounder” Shahid Afridi (7 from 6 – 1 four) at one-down position actually backfired.
Shahid Afridi never looked comfortable gripping his bat and once again Pakistani top cricketers kept hiding their injuries to make sure they don’t lose their place in the team.
Asad Shafiq (27 from 35 – 1 four) then joined Mohammad Hafeez but this time it was the right-hand opening batsman’s turn to leave the crease as Pakistan slipped from 0/129 to 3/155 from 32.2 overs.
Pakistan still had several weapons in their armor as skipper Misbah ul Haq (25 from 39) joined forces with Asad Shafiq to ease off things a little bit but once again skipper took too many balls to score his runs without hitting even a single boundary.
Their slow progress put the lower order under tremendous pressure as Umar Akmal (Duck) and his brother Kamran Akmal (2 from 3) never helped the cause and in the end a lone fight by Azhar Ali (27 not out from 30 – 2 fours) helped Pakistan to a reasonable total of 244 for seven from their 50 overs.
Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc was once again the star performer for the Aussies with the ball as he captured four wickets for 51 runs while Mitchell Johnson (9-0-33-2), for the first time in the series, looked impressive. Skipper Michael Clarke also took a wicket during his 12-ball spell for only three runs.
Australia needed a good start in chase of a good target and their openers David Warner (21 from 33 – 3 fours, 1 six) and David Hussey (43 from 45 – 3 sixes) manhandled the only Pakistani pacer in the lineup, Junaid Khan in his initial overs.
Australia raced to 44 in the ninth over when left-arm off-spinner Abdur Rehman got rid of Warner who tried to hit him out of the park but ended up in safe hands of Shoaib Malik.
Australian captain Michael Clarke (32 from 34 – 4 fours) kept the momentum going for his side as he managed to add another 44 runs for the second wicket from 50 balls as only when things started slipping in the tourists’ way, Saeed Ajmal got into the act and got rid of Aussie skipper as well as David Hussey and dangerous George Bailey (1 from 6).
Saeed Ajmal came at a striking distance of picking up his old rival Mike Hussey, on naught, with a doosra as the ball hit Mr. Reliable right in front of the stumps but Billy Bowden thought the otherwise and Pakistani cricketers found little confidence to challenge the decision thus offering the dangerous batsman a crucial reprieve.
Mike Hussey went on to score 65 runs from 72 balls hitting seven boundaries and a six to make the run-chase viable for the Aussies with 51-run partnership for the fifth wicket in company of Mathew Wade (22 from 46 – 1 four).
When Junaid Khan dismantled furniture behind Mike Hussey, the Aussie had already done enough damage to hand the task to young all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (56 not out from 38 – 4 fours, 3 sixes) who used his big-hitting talent to help Australia get the target with 18 balls to spare.
Pakistani fielding remained sloppy and Kamran Akmal once again proved too sticky as he missed an easy chance to stump Mathew Wade off Azhar Ali. In the crucial stage of the match, Azhar Ali dropped Glenn Maxwell which proved too costly in the context of the game.
In the end, Australia won the third and final One Day International by three wickets to clinch a narrowly-contested series.
Saeed Ajmal has been the real challenge for the Aussies in the series and once again he was the top bowler for Pakistan as he captured three wickets for 37 runs. Shahid Afridi showed big heart to bowl his 10 overs despite of an injury to his left-hand but his effort made no impact as he proved too expensive and leaked 62 runs from his quota. Junaid Khan also proved an expensive option for Pakistan as he gave away 42 runs from his six overs for two wickets while Abdur Rehman captured two wickets for 42 runs.
Mike Hussey was declared Man of the Match for his 65 runs while Mitchell Starc was named Man of the Series for his 13 wickets in three matches.
Talking at the prize distribution ceremony, Australian skipper Michael Clarke said, "Can't have been prouder of the guys. Maxwell is a wonderful talent, today is a great example of a team performance. The bowlers got us back after they were 100 for none. To be able to chase those runs against that attack is special. Starc has had a good series, he has hit the wicket hard, bowled with good pace. I don't want to take anything away from the other bowlers."
Pakistani captain Misbah-ul-Haq was of the view, "The way we started, 15-20 runs short at the end. Credit to Australia the way they chased. Wasn't easy! Little bit of dew factor, outfield was also quicker in the second part of the game. Nasir Jamshed had a wonderful series, Shafiq and Azhar were positives, bowlers bowled well. I think after the game you can say we should have done this and that. All the time when we lose the game it is like this. Other bowlers are also wicket-takers. Probably, in hindsight, if I had continued with him [Ajmal], it could have been a different result."
Man of the Series Mitchell Starc said, "It has been warm, sweaty and the dew factor as well. We wanted to come out and perform rather than just keep talking. Overall it has been a good tour."
Man of the Match Mike Hussey said, "It [heat] was not as bad as the last game in Abu Dhabi but it was still quite oppressive. Fantastic innings from Maxwell! To hit the ball like that on a pitch where the ball was dying was something. They have some great spinners. It is a very satisfying victory. It is up there among the toughest places to play cricket. No point complaining. It is the same for both teams."
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