The series is sealed! Swept away with utter contempt between deep square leg and deep midwicket
Pakistan vs Australia, 4th ODI at Abu Dhabi, May 01 2009 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
4th ODI (D/N), Abu Dhabi, May 01, 2009, Australia v Pakistan ODI Series
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A thumping in the end. 197 on this pitch, one felt, was still competitive but it took a lot of grit and concentration from both these batsmen to pull it off quite comfortably in the end.
Australia were under pressure, down two wickets for just three runs. But Clarke and co were determined to finish the series off here, after that superb comeback in the previous game where Pakistan were on top for a good part of their innings.
Clarke was rarely beaten early in his innings, and was particularly brilliant against spinners against whom he used his feet superbly. He charged down the track to anything that was pitched up, and nudged, tickled and dabbed his way to a determined century.
Watson was a bit of contrast, particularly against spin, missing attempted pulls and cuts on numerous occasions but the presence of Clarke helped him, and he too gradually began to open up, getting periodic boundaries to ensure the Pakistanis could never sense a chance.
Australia have proven deserved winners after three consecutive wins while the promise shown by Pakistan, under adversity, in their victory in the first game, sadly for them, didn't reach its desired end. We'll get you the details from the presentation shortly.
Doug Bollinger is the Man of the Match for his five-wicket haul.
Bolly: "It was pretty hot, but I really enjoyed it. I tried to swing the ball, and bowled at a good pace. It worked really well."
Younis: "We committed the same mistake as we did earlier, not scoring much after winning the toss. They won easily in the end. Clarke and Watson had a fantastic partnership, and that's what we've been missing. We will tey our best for the next game and play for our pride."
Michael Clarke: "Bolly bowled brilliantly. Our bowlers stood up once again. Watson played brilliantly upfront. We worked hard, had a good partnership and it worked beautifully. Few cramps along the way, but it worked fine in the end."
Thats all we have from here folks. The series is sealed 3-1, but there is still a matter of a dead rubber on the 3rd of May. Join us then. Thanks for your feedback. Cheers!
44.2
4
Malik to Watson, FOUR runs
44.1
•
Malik to Watson, no run
tossed up on middle and leg, turned away to midwicket
end of over 449 runs
AUS: 196/2CRR: 4.45 • RRR: 0.33
Michael Clarke100 (122b 14x4)
Shane Watson81 (138b 6x4 1x6)
Shoaib Akhtar 7-0-42-2
Saeed Ajmal 10-1-20-0
43.6
4
Shoaib Akhtar to Clarke, FOUR runs
gets to his century with an exquisite drive wide of cover, drove it on the up, good length outside off and he punched it stylishly to the boundary to reach his fourth ODI century, sublime knock
43.5
•
Shoaib Akhtar to Clarke, no run
bouncer banged in on the off stump and Clarke ducks
Just four away from a century, Clarke
43.4
1
Shoaib Akhtar to Watson, 1 run
yorker length on the off, dug out between point and cover for a single
43.3
4
Shoaib Akhtar to Watson, FOUR runs
slower one bowled short outside off, edges it away wide of the keeper, deliberately done, leapt off the pitch to take the edge and go really fine
43.2
•
Shoaib Akhtar to Watson, no run
full toss on the off stump, punched down to mid-off
43.1
•
Shoaib Akhtar to Watson, no run
good length on middle, pushed firmly back to the bowler who palms it to cover
end of over 436 runs
AUS: 187/2CRR: 4.34 • RRR: 1.57
Michael Clarke96 (120b 13x4)
Shane Watson76 (134b 5x4 1x6)
Saeed Ajmal 10-1-20-0
Shoaib Akhtar 6-0-33-2
42.6
•
Ajmal to Clarke, no run
the doosra, didn't pick it, played away from his body as it spun away to beat the bat
42.5
•
Ajmal to Clarke, no run
drifting into the pads, comes down a couple of steps and drops it into the leg side
42.4
•
Ajmal to Clarke, no run
quicker one on the off stump, defended off the back foot to the bowler
42.3
2
Ajmal to Clarke, 2 runs
short and wide, cut away off the back foot wide of point for a couple more
42.2
•
Ajmal to Clarke, no run
on middle and leg, tries to work it away, gets an inside edge onto his pads
42.1
4
Ajmal to Clarke, FOUR runs
he's inching to his century now, flighted outside off, charges down and lofts it inside out over cover
end of over 427 runs
AUS: 181/2CRR: 4.30 • RRR: 2.12
Michael Clarke90 (114b 12x4)
Shane Watson76 (134b 5x4 1x6)
Shoaib Akhtar 6-0-33-2
Saeed Ajmal 9-1-14-0
41.6
1
Shoaib Akhtar to Clarke, 1 run
good length on the off stump, eased through wide of point for a quick single. He's into the 90's now
41.5
•
Shoaib Akhtar to Clarke, no run
went through too quick, at 142.7 kmph, tries to chop it down, misses
41.4
4
Shoaib Akhtar to Clarke, FOUR runs
slower one, picked it nicely, planted his foot forward and chipped it over mid-off for a boundary, less than 20 needed now
41.3
•
Shoaib Akhtar to Clarke, no run
back of a length on middle, defended solidly back to the bowler
41.2
1
Shoaib Akhtar to Watson, 1 run
slower one bowled short outside off, taps it down to third man
41.1
1
Shoaib Akhtar to Clarke, 1 run
short outside off, slapped straight to deep cover
Akhtar back into the attack
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