Afridi skittles defeated Aussies - Sport in brief - Evening Standard
       

Afridi skittles defeated Aussies

Shahid Afridi claimed six victims to pave the way for Pakistan to claim victory by four wickets in their opening one-day international against Australia in Dubai.

The Pakistan all-rounder claimed career-best figures of six for 38 as Australia could only manage a paltry 168 in an innings that lasted just 38.5 overs.

The world champions again lost their way in the middle overs, losing eight for 27 at one stage as they wilted against Afridi's spin.

It could have been worse for the Australians who relied on a last-wicket stand of 46 runs between James Hopes (48 not out) and Ben Hilfenhaus (four) to give their score some respectability.

Pakistan's reply, while slow going at times, always looked on track with Kamran Akmal hitting 48 at the top of the order before Misbah-ul-Haq anchored the innings with an unbeaten 30 from 68 balls.

A near-capacity crowd filled the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium as the venue hosted international cricket for the first time.

The postponed series, which was originally due to be played last year, had been moved from Pakistan to neutral turf because the Australian team harboured security concerns about touring the strife-torn nation.

That meant this series came after their 3-2 series defeat to South Africa, when Australia's middle order had also shown weakness against spin.

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