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A virtually new-look Pakistan side it was, that turned up on the park and their stranglehold on these conditions remained the same. This had been their backyard for more than a decade now and Pakistan went by their standard copybook - win toss, bat first and bat big.
And their men followed that almost to the T with Pakistan racking up a competitive 280, with Haris Sohail knocking a maiden hundred. But then, it is amazing what momentum can do. Australia's new-found confidence following their dramatic series win against India was on view as the visitors aced the chase to win the first One Day International on Friday night.
Captain Aaron Finch led from the front, quite literally, his 12th hundred, and his first since the 100 against England at Chester-le-Street last June, shepherding his team to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory with an over to spare at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Finch's opposite number Shoaib Malik and coach Mickey Arthur may have felt 280 was decent enough a score but with the Australians having mustered 313 in Ranchi and chased down 358 against India in Mohali, the total was perhaps a tad less.
It still had to be chased down though and Finch showed tremendous composure in making 116 from 135 deliveries with a generous helping of eight boundaries and four sixes. Unfortunately, he couldn't see it through, becoming debutant pacer Mohammad Abbas's first victim in ODI cricket.
It wasn't Finch alone with Shaun Marsh being the ideal ally to his skipper, unraveling an unbeaten 91 from 102 balls with four fours and two sixes. The pair also stitched together a 172-run stand for the second wicket. Peter remained unbeaten on 30.
Earlier, the Pakistan top and middle-order held firm with some hefty contributions none more so than Sohail. Recalled to the team after some of the other big guns were rested, the No.3 batsman coshed his maiden hundred as the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium celebrated a landmark 237th ODI, the most by any venue in the world.
And the significance of it was not lost on the Pakistan batsman, who made the Australian bowlers toil, all six of them. It was pretty much an evening of two returnees - Sohail and Umar Akmal.
Sohail, whose last appearance was against New Zealand in Dubai last November, conjured a well-crafted unbeaten 101 from 115 deliveries with six boundaries and a six.
Meanwhile, Akmal, who returned from the wilderness after last featuring in a One Day International for Pakistan two years ago against the same opponents in Adelaide, showed he hadn't lost any of his attacking instincts.
And that served the 28-year-old yet again as he showed intent against the Aussies. Akmal, who had scored 46 off 40 balls in that game in Adelaide, was unlucky to miss out on what would have been his 21st half-century. But then, he had done his job along with Sohail, by giving the much needed impetus to the innings after the openers Imam-ul-Haq and debutant Shan Masood had laid the groundwork.
Akmal, who made 48 from 50 balls with three sixes, was involved in a crucial alliance of 98 with Sohail for the third wicket. But Akmal fell two runs short of a personal milestone, gobbled up by Finch, to become Nathan Coulter-Nile's second victim.
The teams return to Sharjah for the second ODI on Sunday.
First blood Pakistan innings Pakistan I Haq c and b Lyon 17 S Masood b Coulter-Nile 40 H Sohail not out 101 U Akmal c Finch b Coulter-Nile 49 S Malik b Maxwell 11 F Ashraf c Stoinis b Maxwell 28 I Wasim not out 28 Extras: (lb1, w 5) 6 Total: (for 5 wkts; 50 overs) 280 Did not bat: Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas Fall: 1-35, 2-78, 3-176, 4-190, 5-239 Bowling: Richardson 8-1-65-1, Coulter-Nile 10-0-61-2, Lyon 10-0-38-1, Maxwell 10-0-57-1, Zampa 10-0-44-0, Stoinis 2-0-14-0 Australia innings U Khawaja c S Malik b F Ashraf 24 A Finch c M Rizwan b M Abbas 116 S Marsh not out 91 P Handscomb not out 30 Extras (b 4, lb 8, w 8) 20 Total (for 2 wkts, 49 overs) 281 Fall: 1-63, 2-235 Bowling: Mohammad Amir 9-0-59-0; Mohammad Abbas 10-0-44-1: Imad Wasim 10-1-50-0; Faheem Ashraf 9-0-50-1; Yasir Shah 10-0-56-0; Shoaib Malik 1-0-10-0 Toss: Pakistan Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG) and Ahsan Raza (PAK) TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI) Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL) |
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