Aus Pak ODI 1: Pakistan Give Australia An ‘Afridi’ Shock

Pakistan were not expected to put up much of a fight. It was not because they lacked talent, but it is because they have been largely out of sorts. However, the first match in Dubai between the two teams in the ODI series saw Australia handed a shocker as Shahid Afridi exposed Australia’s vulnerability against spin.
Everything appeared to be going according to plan for Australia as Brad Haddin pushed Australia’s agenda nicely along in the company of Shane Watson to take them to ninety-five for one in nineteen overs. However, it all came crashing down after that and but for the final wicket stand, Australia could have faded away further amidst the sand and dust.
Brad Haddin and Shane Watson made identical scores of forty before they perished to Shahid Afridi as Pakistan captain Younis Khan engaged the world’s number two team in a game of spin. Afridi and off spinner Saeed Ajmal went about decimating the Australian back bone, the middle order, beginning with captain Michael Clarke. Back to the team Andrew Symonds failed to shake off the spin charm as Afridi stuck to remove him as well as Watson in the same over and returned to dismiss Callum Ferguson who often bailed out the Australians in the tough series in South Africa recently.

From nine down for 122 in only thirty overs, Australia picked themselves up to 168 as James Hopes remained not out on forty-eight, the highest run getter in the Australian team on the day.
UAE did indeed feel like home for Pakistan soaring high on Afridi’s career best six for thirty-eight in his ten overs while Ajmal picke dup two at a rather economical rate, giving away only nineteen runs in his ten.
168 should not have proved too difficult for Pakistan with opener and wicket keeper batsman Kamran Akmal making forty-eight. But Pakistan did lose wickets intermittently and it took some dogged determination through the joint efforts of deposed captain Shoaib Mallik, Misbah ul Haq and an explosive Afridi to complete the rout in a ball over forty-four overs, drawing first blood in the series and throwing the gauntlet back to Australia.

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