Pakistan beat Australia by 221 runs to take a 1-0 lead in two-match Test series being played in Dubai.
Australia, set 438 to win, were bowled out for 216 in their second innings with spinner Zulfiqar Babar (5-74) and leg-spinner Yasir Shah (4-50) sharing the bowling honours.
“We really did well in every department of the game; that helped us to put Australia under pressure,” said captain Misbah-ul-Haq.
Talking about Babar and Shah’s brilliant performance, Misbah said: “These bowlers are young at the international level but have a good experience playing first-class cricket and I must appreciate the temperament they showed against a team like Australia.”
“If we play disciplined cricket like this, we can win the series,” Misbah said adding, “We just need to be consistent and stick to the basics.”
This victory makes Misbah-ul-Haq, 40, the oldest captain after England’s W. G. Grace in 1896 to win a Test against Australia.
After setting an imposing 438-run target, Pakistan rattled the Australians through a brace of wickets apiece from spinners Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah to leave Australia tottering on 59-4 at stumps on the fourth day on Saturday, needing six wickets for a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.
Australia’s best chase to win a Test was way back in 1948 when they made 404-3 against England at Headingley while their best chase against Pakistan was 369-6 at Hobart in 1999.
Australia had raced to 44-0 before Babar struck twice in the 14th over, inducing David Warner, who had scored his third successive test century in the first innings, to come out of the crease for a smart stumping when he was on 29 with his first ball and then trapped Alex Doolan (nought) leg before with his last.
Michael Clarke survived a review leg-before decision on nought off Shah before trapped in front of the wicket in the leg-spinner’s next over for three.
Clarke was disappointed at his failure. “I’m really disappointed with my personal performance in this Test match.
“I am not looking to blame anybody else or criticise anybody else. But if you look at all facets of the game we’ve been outplayed at this stage,” said Clarke who made two in the first innings.
Earlier during Pakistan’s batting, Younis Khan hit a record-making 103 not out and Ahmed Shehzad 131 to bolster Pakistan to 286-2 declared.
Younis swept Steve O’Keefe to square-leg boundary for his sixth boundary to get to his second hundred in the match following his 106 in Pakistan’s 454 in the first innings. Australia conceded a big 151-run lead after being dismissed for 303 in their first knock.
Younis became the seventh Pakistani batsmen, but first against Australia, to score twin hundreds in a Test.
Hanif Mohammad (1964), Javed Miandad (1984), Wajahatullah Wasti (1999), Yasir Hameed (2003), Inzamam-ul Haq (2005) and Mohammad Yousuf (2006) had also achieved the distinction in the past.
With his 26th hundred, Younis also edged ahead of Inzamam (25 hundreds) as the highest Test century maker for his country.
The second and final Test starts in Abu Dhabi on October 30. – AFP
