Perth: A calm and composed unbeaten 40 by Michael Hussey ensured a two-wicket victory for Australia in the fifth and final one-dayer against Pakistan. The win also completed a 5-0 whitewash for the home team, which had earlier won the test series 3-0.

Chasing 213 to win, Australia didn’t get off to the best of starts but a fluent 55 by skipper Ricky Ponting brought them back into the game. Pakistan, however, kept chipping away at the wickets until Hussey and Hauritz came together to take Australia over the finishing line with four balls to spare.

It was probably one of a kind ending to the game, with No. 10 Ryan Harris on strike as Rao Iftikhar Anjum bowled a waist-high full toss which was ruled a no-ball to signal Australia’s victory.

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat, having already conceded the four-match series. Regular skipper Mohammad Yousuf pulled out of the match at the last minute which prompted Shahid Afridi to take over the captaincy, but the visitors never got going against a clinical bowling performance by the Aussies. Pakistan got off to the worst possible start as openers Salman Butt and Khalid Latif both departed for ducks.

Younis Khan’s dismal run with the bat continued as the Pakistani No. 3 was caught behind off Clint McKay for a painstaking three, before Shoaib Malik (36), Umar Akmal (67) and Fawad Alam (63) staged a revival.

Australian speedster Clint McKay was declared the man of the match for his 4-35 while Ryan Harris, who picked up three wickets in this game and 13 in the three matches that he played in the series, was declared the Man of the Series.

Match Summary:

Australia 8 for 214 (Ponting 55, Hussey 40*) beat Pakistan 212 (Umar Akmal 67, Fawad Alam 63, McKay 4-35, Harris 3-44) by two wickets

Man of the Match: Clint McKay

Man of the Series: Ryan Harris

Tagged with: Australia, Clint McKay, Fawad Alam, Michael Hussey, Nathan Hauritz, Pakistan, Perth, Ricky Ponting, Ryan Harris, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal

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