Pakistan bowlers pip Australia in thriller

Mar 23, 2014

Australia opted to bowl and had immediate success when Doug Bollinger took a simple return catch to dismiss Ahmed Shehzad in the second over•Getty Images

Kamran Akmal held steady at one end and found support in Umar Akmal•Getty Images

Akmal fell six runs short of the landmark but his knock had propelled Pakistan to a challenging 191 for 5•Getty Images

Out came Glenn Maxwell and the batsman immediately wrested the advantage from Pakistan with some big strokes. He smacked 30 runs off Bilawal Bhatti's first over and raced to 50 off 18 with five fours and five sixes•Getty Images

Pakistan clawed their way back in the game with late wickets, including that of Finch, as Australia were out for 175, their last seven wickets falling for 29 runs•Getty Images

Three overs later, Pakistan lost their captain as Mohammad Hafeez was bowled by Shane Watson for 13•Getty Images

The pair flourished, adding 96 in 8.3 overs. Umar Akmal was the more aggressive of the two, scoring 59 of the runs in the partnership•Getty Images

Australia were rocked twice by Zulfiqar Babar in the first over of their innings. First, David Warner was bowled for 4•Getty Images

Maxwell was given a reprieve when Saeed Ajmal spilled a simple chance in the deep. However, Afridi ensured the drop was not too costly, dismissing the batsman in the next over for 74•Getty Images

Umar Akmal continued his charge even after Kamran was dismissed. He reached his 50 off 28 balls and was on his way to scoring Pakistan's first T20 hundred•Getty Images

Four balls later, Shane Watson was caught behind for 4•Getty Images

Aaron Finch was the only other batsman to pitch in with a big score for Australia in tall chase•Getty Images