Australia beat Pakistan by 94 runs

Dubai: David Warner's whirlwind half-century, and bowling exploits of Patrick Cummins and Mitchell Starc enabled Australia to defeat Pakistan by 94 runs in the 3rd T20.

David Warner and Shane Watson smashed a century opening stand to propel Australia to 168 for 7 in the third and final Twenty20 match against Pakistan.

Warner hit 59 off 34 balls and Watson scored 47 off 32 deliveries in an electrifying 111-run first wicket stand — the best Australian partnership for any wicket in the shortest format of the game.

Pakistan, already leading 2-0 in the series, stumbled in their run-chase at 36 for 6 before being bowled out for 74 in 19.1 overs.

Pakistan were out of reckoning once the top order crumbled, with seamers Mitchell Starc 3 for 11 and Patrick Cummins 3 for 15 taking the bowling honors. It is Pakistan's heaviest ever defeat in T20s.

Pakistani spinners wreck Australia in first T20

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Sept 5, 2012  - - Pakistan's spinners Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal and Raza Hasan bowled Australia out for just 89 to set up an easy seven-wicket win in the first Twenty20 international here on Wednesday.

Ajmal (2-13), Hasan (2-15) and skipper Hafeez (2-24) shook the Australian batting before left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir (3-13) wrapped up the innings in 19.3 overs. Pakistan then romped home in 14.5 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

It was an easy win for Pakistan at Dubai Stadium after going down 2-1 in the preceding one-day series.

Shoaib Malik hit the winning boundary, finishing with nine not out while Kamran Akmal finished with an unbeaten 31 with three boundaries and a six.

The victory was never in doubt once Pakistan bowled well. Hafeez (17) and Imran Nazir (22) gave Pakistan a solid start of 30 before losing Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed (10) in quick succession.

Akmal and Malik saw off the target without any discomfort.

The second match will be played here on Friday.

Hafeez was delighted at his team's fightback.

"We stuck to our plans and the bowlers did very well to bowl them out cheaply," said Hafeez. "We were more determined to do well after the disappointment of the one-day series."

Australian captain George Bailey praised Pakistan.

"Certainly they were the better side and when we were bowled out for 89 there was not much for the bowlers," said Bailey. "Hopefully we do well in the next game."

Earlier Australia were let down by poor shot selection against quality spin bowling after they were sent into bat.

Australia hit only three boundaries in the innings with their last coming in the fourth over as Pakistani spinners never allowed them to settle on a turning track, reducing their opponents to their second-lowest Tweny20 total.

Opener David Warner top-scored with 22 off 25 deliveries, hitting two boundaries.

Cameron White (15) and Bailey (14) were the only others to reach double figures.

Paceman Umar Gul dismissed Shane Watson (eight) in the third over while Tanvir accounted for Michael Hussey (one) in the next before Warner and Bailey put on the best stand of the innings, adding 33 for the third wicket.

Pakistan's spinners then came into their own, as the last eight wickets went for a mere 43 runs.

Australia's lowest Twenty20 total of 79 came against England at Southampton in 2005.

Asia Cup: Pakistan survive Bangladesh scare

Mirpur: Pakistan survived a scare before pulling off a nervy 21-run victory over a spirited Bangladesh in the thrilling opening match of Asia Cup, here on Sunday.

Chasing 263 to win, Bangladesh were reeling at 135 for five at one stage but Shakib Al Hasan (64) and Nasir Hossain (47) raised the hopes of a stunning win with their 89-run stand for the sixth wicket.

However, the hosts lacked the batting firepower in the end to be all out for 241 in 48.1 overs at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Nevertheless, the hosts gave a good account of themselves and served a warning to other teams that they cannot be taken lightly in the tournament.

Shakib and Nasir were going great guns as the team needed 68 off the last 10 overs but Pakistan paceman Umar Gul (3/58) broke the partnership by bowling Nasir in the 44th over after conceding two consecutive boundaries.

Shakib was still fighting from one end but ran short of partners. Shakib was the last man out, bowled by Gul in the first ball of the 49th over.

Pakistan scored 262 for eight after Mohammed Hafeez top-scored with a patient 89 and shared a 135-run stand with fellow opener Nasir Jamshed (54).

Apart from Hafeez and Jamshed's brilliant batting it was Gul's strokeful unbeaten 39 towards the end that lifted Pakistan to a respectable total.

Shahdat Hossain (3/53) and Shakib Al Hasan (2/41) shared five wickets between them to help Bangladesh restrict Pakistani players, who were scoring briskly till the 30 overs.

Pakistan rode on spin trio of Hafeez (2/40), Saeed Ajmal (2/45) and Shahid Afridi's (2/49) brilliant bowling to open their campaign with a win.

Bangladesh's chase was guided by opener Tamim Iqbal's crafty 64 but the hosts could not make the best use of his innings. Iqbal along with opener Nazimuddin (30) and Jahurul Islam (23) shared two 45-run stands each for the first and second wickets.

Hafeez struck twice in two balls in the 29th over as he bowled Iqbal in the third ball and trapped Mahmudullah in the next to reduce Bangaldesh to 135 for five.

Shakib then joined hands with Nasir to take the fight to Pakistan. They made good use of third powerplay to set the tone for a close finish.

Earlier, Hafeez and Jamshed had laid the foundation by putting on 135 runs for the first wicket in just 28 overs but Shahdat Hossain (3/53) and Shakib Al Hasan (2/41) struck at crucial moments to help the hosts fight back into the match.

But Gul, somewhat, spoilt Bangladesh's plans with a brisk 39 off 25 balls.

Hoping that the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium would offer some assistance to his seamers early on, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim elected to field after the coin landed in his favour.

Jamshed was the more aggressive of the two as he found the fence five times, besides hitting a six. Hafeez was content to rotate the strike while hitting the occasional boundaries.

Bangladesh then made a spirited fightback and the breakthrough they needed, came in the form of Jamshed's wicket in the 28th over, when Mushfiqur ran the batsman out after receiving a throw from Shakib.

Living up to the tag of being an unpredictable side, Pakistan suffered a collapse and, from 160 for two in the 33rd over, they were struggling at 198 for seven.

Even as the middle-order, which has the experienced Younis Khan and the talented Umar Akmal, failed miserably, Gul provided the much-needed thrust down the order to help Pakistan post a challenging total.

Gul, who struck five fours and a six, found an ally in Sarfraz Ahmed (19 off 28), and the two added 53 crucial runs for the eighth wicket.

Wickets tumble on Day 1 of Pakistan-England Test

Dubai: England batsmen ruined the terrific job by seamers Stuart Broad and James Anderson to end up at 104-6 against Pakistan on a bowler-dominated opening day of the third Test on Friday.

Broad bulldozed the top order with 4-36 and Anderson captured 3-35 to shoot out Pakistan for 99 but left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman grabbed 3-23 before the top-ranked team overhauled Pakistan's sixth lowest ever total against England.

Captain Andrew Strauss scored a fighting unbeaten 41 on an eventful on Friday when three rulings by one of the best umpires in the world, Simon Taufel, were overturned.

Strauss was also lucky on 35 when he swept to Rehman and was hit on the back leg. However, Rehman did not go for the referral as TV replays showed it could have overruled Taufel's decision a fourth time.

England paid the price for keeping the faith in its struggling batting lineup that was humiliated in the first two Tests.

Kevin Pietersen (32) briefly showed some of his batting prowess in a 57-run stand with Strauss before Rehman had him lbw. It was the 34th lbw decision of the series, surpassing the previous high of 33 recorded in the series between Pakistan and West Indies in 1993.

Rehman went on to claim the wickets of Eoin Morgan (10) and Matt Prior (6) as England batsmen just managed to get past Pakistan's total.

Earlier, skipper Misbah-ul-Haq's decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired and Pakistan could never recover after Broad and Anderson reduced Pakistan to 21-5. Asad Shafiq fought a lone battle with 45 off 78 balls before he became one of Monty Panesar's two scalps.

England's reply also had a rocky start. Jonathan Trott could have survived had he used video review but the batsman chose to walk after scoring 2 as replays suggested fast bowler Umar Gul's delivery would have missed the leg stump.

Gul had England in early trouble when Alastair Cook, on 1, offered a thick outside edge in only the second over as England took tea at 19-2.

Anderson, who had struck in his very first over in the morning, ensured Pakistan did not reach 100 when he closed the innings by clean-bowling Gul midway into the second session.

The 34-run eighth-wicket stand between Shafiq and Saeed Ajmal (12) ensured Pakistan passed its lowest ever score of 53 made against Australia in 2002 at Sharjah.

Shafiq pulled Broad to the midwicket boundary to also take Pakistan past its lowest score of 72 against England at Birmingham two years ago.

Pakistan had a disastrous start at the same venue where it defeated England by 10 wickets last month.

Anderson had opener Taufeeq Umar lbw for a duck off his sixth delivery and Broad was unlucky not to get rid of Mohammad Hafeez in the next over when Strauss at first slip dropped a two-handed head-high catch.

But Broad did not have to wait long for his reward, striking three times in the space of 16 balls as Pakistan crumbled inside the first hour.

He succeeded on both of his TV referrals after the Australian Taufel had adjudged Azhar Ali (1) and Hafeez (13) not out.

Hafeez could face disciplinary action from match referee Jeff Crowe after he sarcastically clapped with his bat while walking back to the dressing room after his lbw decision by TV umpire Shahvir Tarapore.

In between those successful challenges, Broad snared Younis Khan, who flashed at a wide delivery on 4 and edged through to wicketkeeper Prior.

Anderson reduced Pakistan to 5-21 when he had Misbah trapped lbw for 1 as he missed while trying to play across the line.

Strauss, who saw his batsmen fall well short of a modest victory chase of 145 runs in the second Test at Abu Dhabi last week, kept the pressure on Pakistan and Broad took his fourth wicket by having Adnan Akmal lbw for 6.

Graeme Swann was also amongst the wickets in his only over bowled, with Pietersen at mid-off neatly holding onto a skier from Rehman.

Top-ranked England needs to win the last Test to ensure it pockets the ICC's $175,000 prize money awarded to the No. 1 Test team every April 1.

1st Test: Pakistan beat England by 10 wickets

Dubai: Pakistan handed top-ranked England their first Test defeat in 13 months with a blowout 10-wicket victory inside three days on Thursday.

Pakistan stubbornly extended their first innings in the morning to 338 for a lead of 146, then began before lunch dismantling England in their second innings for 160 inside 58 overs.

Umar Gul's aggressive bowling for 4-63, coupled with some shocking shot selection by the Englishmen, left Pakistan with only 15 runs to win the opening Test of the three-match series, and opener Mohammad Hafeez hit three boundaries in collecting them all.

It was top-ranked England's first defeat since losing to Australia in the Ashes Test at Perth in 2010. England had won seven of nine since then.

Pakistan extended their unbeaten run in Tests to eight since May, including six victories.

Offspinner Saeed Ajmal, who grabbed a career-best 7-55 in England's first innings score of 192, added three more wickets to be named man of the match. It was second career match haul of 10 wickets.

Abdur Rehman showed England why they should have included left-arm spinner Monty Panesar with 3-37, and narrowly missed a hat-trick.

After Adnan Akmal's gutsy half-century stretched Pakistan's first-innings lead to 146, Gul had England on the mat by tea at 75-5, claiming three wickets.

Gul had reduced England to 16-1 at lunch when captain Andrew Strauss was adjudged caught behind off a leg-side delivery after TV umpire Steve Davis upheld onfield umpire Billy Bowden's decision.

Opener Alastair Cook (5) and Kevin Pietersen (0) departed from attempting shocking pull shots against Gul.

In his second spell, Gul found a thick outside edge of topscorer Jonathan Trott, who attempted an expansive cover drive to try and to reach a half century. Trott was out for 49 off 111 balls.

Ajmal undid Ian Bell for 4 with his doosra. The batsman halfheartedly called for a review but started walking back after watching the replay on the big screen at Dubai International Cricket Stadium with the ball striking his back leg in front of the stumps.

Rehman struck just before tea when Eoin Morgan on 14 got a faint edge to the wicketkeeper, and was on a hat trick when he dismissed Stuart Broad (17) and Chris Tremlett (0) off successive deliveries with England still 11 runs shy of making Pakistan bat again.

Graeme Swann (39) and James Anderson (15) ensured England did not lose by an innings with a 25-run last wicket stand before Ajmal wrapped up the innings by finding the leading edge of Swann's bat and Asad Shafiq making a low catch and roll at short cover.

Pakistan resumed overnight at 288-7 and thanks to the diminutive Akmal hitting 61 with eight fours, frustrated England for an hour and a quarter.

Akmal lost Gul for a duck when he hit Broad in only the second over of the day to Morgan at point.

Akmal gathered a precious 30 runs with Ajmal before Swann had the latter caught close to the wicket for 12.

The last-wicket stand of 19 — all made by Akmal — added to England's frustration as the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman kept the strike from No. 11 Aizaz Cheema for four overs.

Akmal played some extravagant strokes that included two reverse swept boundaries off Swann. He brought up his second Test half-century with a similar stroke for two runs and pumped his fist in joy while raising his bat toward his teammates in the dressing room.

Swann finally closed Pakistan's first innings when Akmal went out of the crease but missed the line and was stumped by Prior down the legside. Swann ended with 4-107 while Broad claimed 3-84.

The second Test begins at Abu Dhabi on Jan. 25, and the teams return to Dubai for the last Test from Feb. 3.

Pakistan in control in Dubai Test

Dubai: Pakistan openers Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar hit contrasting half-centuries to steer their team to a 96-run lead over England with three wickets in hand by stumps Wednesday on the second day of the first Test.

Led by Hafeez's chancy 88 and Umar's solid 58, Pakistan reached 288-7 in reply to England's 192 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Offspinner Saeed Ajmal's career-best 7-55 on Tuesday had bundled out top-ranked England on a pitch favorable for batting.

Misbah-ul-Haq (52) frustrated England further with his 11th half-century in 13 Tests since being appointed captain in 2010, before England hit back with two wickets just before stumps.

Captain Andrew Strauss won his first of two television referrals after New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden had turned down Graeme Swann's (2-89) lbw appeal against Misbah.

James Anderson (2-57) brought some relief for England on an otherwise frustrating day by bowling Abdur Rehman in the last over of the day.

Anderson had provided immediate success with the second new ball, inducing Asad Shafiq to get a big edge while on 16 and Pakistan's lead was 39 runs.

Adnan Akmal, who will resume on 24, was on 9 when Kevin Pietersen dropped a hard chance in the covers after England bowlers had toiled without much success in the first two sessions.

Hafeez escaped a run out on 44 and was also dropped on 52 before falling lbw when he missed Swann's full-pitched delivery while attempting a sweep shortly after lunch. Hafeez hit 11 fours and also lofted Swann over wide long on for the lone six of the match so far.

England — unbeaten in their last nine Test series — found something to cherish in the middle session as part-time medium-pacer Jonathan Trott forced Younis Khan to play across the line to trap the former Pakistan skipper lbw on 37.

Earlier, Stuart Broad claimed two quick wickets to give England some hope of getting back into the match before lunch.

Bowling round the wicket, Broad clean bowled Umar as the left-hander played down the wrong line. The fast bowler found a thin edge to dismiss Azhar Ali for 1 just before lunch, and ultimately finished with figures of 2-72.

Umar and Hafeez batted with aggression against the England seamers after resuming overnight at 42 without loss. The pair added 48 inside the first hour, with both using their feet against Swann to hit some attractive boundaries.

England twice came close to dismissing Hafeez, but Bell missed a sharp run out chance and Tremlett couldn't hang on to a diving catch off a mistimed hook shot.

Umar completed his half-century with his ninth four when he hit Tremlett through the covers, before Bell's throw from square leg narrowly missed the stumps with Hafeez well short of the crease.

Hafeez had another lucky escape shortly after completing his half-century — also including nine boundaries — when Tremlett's desperate dive at wide mid-on saw the ball pop out of his hands.

Broad, who bowled sharply in his second spell, ended the 114-run partnership by dismissing Umar off the next delivery.

It was the Pakistan opening pair's fifth century stand in Tests, surpassing countrymen Sadiq Mohammad-Majid Khan (4) and Saeed Anwar-Aamir Sohail (4).

England have not won a Test on the subcontinent after conceding first-innings lead in 12 years. The two times they have achieved the feat have both come against Pakistan — in 1961 (at Lahore) and 2000 (at Karachi).