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