Pakistan finally ended Australia’s unbeaten streak in the World Cups with a four-wicket win in their Group A match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The win put Pakistan at the top of the table and in most probability will be facing the West Indies in their quarterfinal clash.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Umar Gul removed Shane Watson (9) early in the innings but skipper Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin added 63 runs for the third wicket to bring Australia back into the game. Ricky Ponting scored 19 runs from 33 balls while Haddin top-scored for his team with 42 runs from 80 balls and included three fours and a six.
Both the batsmen departed in quick succession and thereafter none of the Aussie batsmen took effort to spend time at the crease. Only Michael Clarke, who made a 48-ball 34 runs and Steve Smith with a 32-ball 25 runs reached the 20-run mark. Australia were dismissed for 176 runs in the 47th over. Umar Gul took 3/30 while Abdul Razzaq picked up 2/8 from his four overs.
Australia hit back through Brett Lee to protect their unbeaten streak removing Mohammad Hafeez (5) in the third over. Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq added 53 runs for the third wicket. Asad Shafiq top-scored for Pakistan with 46 runs from 81 balls with five fours. Lee also dismissed Kamran Akmal (23), Younis Khan (31) and Misbah-ul-Haq (0) as Pakistan slumped to 98/4.
Umar Akmal hit an unbeaten 44 runs from 59 balls to avert a typical Pakistan collapse. He hit four fours and a six. Abdul Razzaq too hit a quick unbeaten 24-ball 20 runs as Pakistan overcame the target in 41 overs. Brett Lee picked up 28/4 but Australia required a better effort from its other bowlers to avoid a defeat. Umar Akmal was declared the player of the match.