Fourth one-day international, Abu Dhabi:
Australia 200-2 (44.2 ov) beat Pakistan 197 (48.4 ov) by eight wickets
Match scorecard
 Bollinger was in sparkling form |
Doug Bollinger took 5-35 to help Australia to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan, giving them victory in the one-day series with a game to play. Among the paceman's victims were opener Salman Butt and dangerman Shahid Afridi as Pakistan were dismissed for 197. In reply, Australia found themselves 3-2 after Brad Haddin and Marcus North gave away their wickets cheaply. However, Michael Clarke (100 no) and Shane Watson (85 no) steadied the ship to guide Australia to an easy win. The winning runs came in the 45th over, the Aussies winning their third match in a row in this series following twin defeats in 50-over cricket home and away to South Africa. In a series which has featured low scores throughout, Clarke's men were in trouble when Shoaib Akhtar had Brad Haddin caught behind with the second ball of the innings and then trapped debutant North lbw inside three overs. However, Pakistan's joy was short-lived. While Watson took a long time to find his groove, Clarke led by example, punishing Sohail Tanvir with boundaries flicked off the pads, down the ground, through mid-off and cut away square - all during the first powerplay. Watson tried to match Clarke's fluent strokeplay but only when the game was almost over did he manage some big shots, though in the circumstances it barely mattered.  | 606: DEBATE |
Clarke reached his century with a square drive off Shoaib from the last ball of the 44th over. That left Pakistan two runs from defeat, which duly came when Watson swept Shoaib Malik for the winning boundary. "The century was not playing on my mind," Clarke said. "It was incidental. The most important thing for me was to win the series and I am happy that my bowlers did well again." Earlier, Ahmed Shehzad topscored for Pakistan with 43, while Afridi hit 40 off 40 balls and Misbah-ul-Haq 34 from 75 deliveries after Pakistan captain Younus Khan had won the toss and elected to bat. Butt, who scored 57 and 48 in the previous two games, departed to the third ball of the innings, edging to wicketkeeper Haddin. Pakistan declined to 12-2 when Younus was bowled by Nathan Bracken, and Pakistan never fully recovered. Bollinger returned to remove Malik - lbw to a delivery that nipped back - and Afridi top-edged a pull shot to North at mid-on, as Pakistan lost their last three wickets for seven runs. Younus said: "It was the batsmen who disappointed us again. Clarke and Watson had a fantastic partnership and that is what we have been missing. It was our home series but we did not utilize the conditions well. "We will try our best for the next game and play for our pride." Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan afterwards urged the selectors to lift the international ban on players who took part in the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League. "Presently, there's no competition (for places in the Pakistan team) because of this ban. Every player thinks his place is secure," Moin commented. He singled out batsman Misbah-ul-Haq as an example, adding: "He has not played any significant knock in the last two years but there's no competition for his place."
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