Khawaja propels Australia to 327-7 in fifth ODI

Dubai

Opener Usman Khawaja missed a deserved hundred by two runs as Australia punished Pakistan in the fifth and final one-day international in Dubai on Sunday.
Khawaja was all set for his third hundred this month but fell for 98 which lifted Australia to an imposing 327-7 in 50 overs after they were sent into bat on a flat Dubai stadium pitch.
Glenn Maxwell celebrated his 100th one-day inter-national with a thumping 33-ball 70, Shaun Marsh scored 68-ball 61 and skipper Aaron Finch made 69-ball 53 to lead a run spree against a hapless Paki-stan bowling attack.
It was Maxwell´s ten fours and three sixes that helped Australia to 107 runs in the last ten overs. He was finally bowled by paceman Junaid Khan who finished with three wickets for 73.
Khawaja, who hit ten boundaries in his 111-ball innings, set the platform with a solid 134-run open-ing stand with Finch for pair´s second hundred run stand in the series, which Australia lead 4-0.
Finch was finally bowled by pacer Usman Shinwari, finishing with 451 runs in the series, only 27 short of George Bailey´s record in a bilateral series he made against India in 2013.
Khawaja, who made his first two ODI career hun-dreds in India earlier this month, was all set for his third but fell to a miscued drive off Shinwari, who finished with 4-49.
Khawaja added 80 for the second wicket with Marsh who hit five fours and a six in his 68-ball knock.
Pakistan were once again with skipper Shoaib Malik, who was rested after failing to fully recover from a rib injury which also forced him to miss the last game on Friday.
Fast bowler Mohammad Abbas came in for Mohammad Hasnain while Australia replaced Na-than Coulter-Nile with Jason Behrendorff.
Abid Ali — on debut — and Mohammad Rizwan both posted centuries for Pakistan and they were well placed to win the fourth ODI at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as the hosts needed 66 runs from the final 10 overs.
But Pakistan fell in an extraordinary heap to lose six wickets for 52 runs and the match by six runs as Nathan Coulter-Nile (3-53 off 10 overs) and Marcus Stoinis (2-20) delivered at the death for Australia.
In the 4,119 ODIs to have been played, Pakistan’s defeat in Dubai was only the fourth time a run chase has featured two centurions in a losing cause.
India have achieved that dubious feat twice, most recently in January 2016 at Manuka Oval when Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli hit tons before a collapse of nine wickets for 46 runs in 12 overs.
It means Australia are the only team whose bowlers have twice performed such extraordinary ‘get-out-of-jail’ acts.
‘The two hundreds were positives for us, but we should have won this game,’ Pakistan’s stand-in skipper Imad Wasim said after the match. ‘We were lacking the power hitting. We were short, so it shows we were lacking something. They [Australia] bowled beautifully [but] some of the shots were not on in that situation.’
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell — who won plaudits for selflessly pushing for a second run in the final over of Australia’s innings only to be run out for 98 — said the visitors had been confident breaking the partnership between Abid and Rizwan could turn the match.
‘We knew if we could break that partnership it was going to be hard for a new batter to start,’ Maxwell said. ‘Once Abid got his 100, he started to play a few more shots and started to try and take on the fielders a bit more, which probably played into our hands a bit.—Agencies

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