Player of the Match
Player of the Match

A morale-boosting win for Pakistan after all that has happened in the recent months. Australia were in control early on, but were dented by a six-wicket burst from Shahid Afridi. Though they did fight back well to make Pakistan work for their runs, a score of 168 never looked threatening. Kamran Akmal was the star with the bat, making a fluent 48, and Afridi provided some entertainment with a quickfire 24. Misbah laboured to 30, but his presence at the crease was important for Pakistan to scale down their target.

Australia will try to bat hard at the nets, facing their spinners and using their feet a lot more to get some much needed practice ahead of their second match. Hold fire, and we'll bring you the details from the presentation shortly.

There are a zillion people on the presentation podium. Shahid Afridi is the Man of the Match. No surprises there.

Afridi: "I'm very happy to perform this well against a very good side. I learnt a lot from Abdul Qadir." Short and sweet.

Clarke: "Full credit to Pakistan. Our middle-order needs to work more, especially against spin. The pitch kept a little low and spun. We need to have a look at the footage and improve upon our batting come Friday."

Younis: "The Australians made it hard for us, but in the end it's a team effort. Our spinners did the job for us. In the UAE, the pitch does help the spinners a bit. Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal bowled really well."

That's all we have from here folks. Thanks for tuning in and sending us your feedback. Join us again on Friday for the second ODI. Until then, on behalf of everyone at Cricinfo, it's goodbye from Siddhartha Talya. Cheers!

44.1
4
Bracken to Umar Gul, FOUR, It's all over, just a fraction full on the off, he swings across the line to clear mid-on to finish this off

Bracken to bowl

END OF OVER:
44 | 8 Runs | PAK: 167/6 (2 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 3.79, RRR: 0.33)

  • Misbah-ul-Haq30 (68b)
  • Umar Gul4 (12b)
  • Andrew Symonds3-0-18-1
  • Nathan Bracken9-2-21-0
43.6
0
Symonds to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, full outside off, he's already made room, drilled straight to cover

Just two more needed now

43.5
4
Symonds to Misbah-ul-Haq, FOUR, four more, flighted on the off stump, gets forward and chips it well over midwicket to beat the fielder in the deep for a boundary
43.4
4
Symonds to Misbah-ul-Haq, FOUR, finally, short on the off, waits for it to spin into him, rocks back and pulls it away wide of a diving square leg
43.3
0
Symonds to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, does it again, flighted outside off, gets across and nudges it to square leg
43.2
0
Symonds to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, closes the face and works it to square leg
43.1
0
Symonds to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, flighted on the off, gets across and pushes it back to the bowler

END OF OVER:
43 | 1 Run | PAK: 159/6 (10 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 3.69, RRR: 1.42)

  • Umar Gul4 (12b)
  • Misbah-ul-Haq22 (62b)
  • Nathan Bracken9-2-21-0
  • Andrew Symonds2-0-10-1
42.6
0
Bracken to Umar Gul, no run, struck well, got forward and punched it wide of mid-off for a single, less than ten needed now
42.5
0
Bracken to Umar Gul, no run, gets forward and taps it down to mid-off, good bounce, but handled well
42.4
1
Bracken to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, slower one bowled full on the off stump, driven wide of the bowler to mid-off, Gul appears to be struggling for a bit but he's made it comfortably
42.3
0
Bracken to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, back of a length outside off, bowled at 132.2 kmph, left alone
42.2
0
Bracken to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, short on middle and off, gets across to defend to cover

Misbah is in some pain, probably some cramps. He's back on his feet now, so all's good

42.1
0
Bracken to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, came back in, good length on the off and caught him on the ribs as he came forward to defend

END OF OVER:
42 | 3 Runs | PAK: 158/6 (11 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 3.76, RRR: 1.37)

  • Umar Gul4 (10b)
  • Misbah-ul-Haq21 (58b)
  • Andrew Symonds2-0-10-1
  • Nathan Bracken8-2-20-0
41.6
0
Symonds to Umar Gul, no run, on the off stump, lunges forward and blocks
41.5
0
Symonds to Umar Gul, no run, short outside off and held its line, he got back, expecting it to spin into him, it doesn't and he misses
41.4
2
Symonds to Umar Gul, 2 runs, almost dragged it on! Tossed up and turned in sharply, he got back to dab that past the keeper, got an inside edge just wide of the off stump, two more to fine leg
41.3
0
Symonds to Umar Gul, no run, flighted outside off, gets forward and defends solidly
41.2
1
Symonds to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, short on the off, punched down past a diving midwicket where a fumble by Hauritz allows them a single

Australia v Pakistan ODI Series 2009 News

Pakistan 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st5Kamran AkmalSalman Butt
2nd28Kamran AkmalYounis Khan
3rd48Shoaib MalikKamran Akmal
4th18Shoaib MalikMisbah-ul-Haq
5th39Shahid AfridiMisbah-ul-Haq
6th14Misbah-ul-HaqNasir Jamshed
7th19Misbah-ul-HaqUmar Gul