Misbah in high spirits

Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul and Shoaib Malik shared nine of the 10 Australia wickets to fall in the sole Twenty20 international

Pakistan stand-in captain Misbah-ul-Haq believes the performance of his bowlers against Australia puts them in good shape for the World Twenty20 in England next month.

Pakistan claimed a seven-wicket defeat in the one-off Twenty20 game in Dubai, ensured they ended the limited-overs series on a high following defeat in the 50-over contests.
Fast bowler Umar Gul claimed 4-8, while Shahid Afridi bagged three top-order wickets as Australia were bowled out for 108 in 19.5 overs.

Pakistan lost their openers early, but Kamran Akmal hit an unbeaten 59 and put on 85 for the third wicket with Misbah as Pakistan eased to victory.

"They (Australia) got off to a terrific start and we were having a hard time trying to contain them, but Gul and Afridi bowled beautifully to bring us back in the game," Misbah said.

"Both of them were the star performers for us at the last Twenty20 World Cup.

"Afridi has bowled brilliantly throughout the series and it augurs well for us with the World Cup coming up."

Pakistan, runners-up at the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, have now won 13 of their 17 Twenty20 international games.

"We play a lot of Twenty20 cricket on the domestic scene in Pakistan so the players are tuned to this version of the game," Misbah said. "Everybody knows their role and they perform to the situation."

Brad Haddin, standing in as Australia captain, insists they will bounce back from their comprehensive seven-wicket defeat

Misbah insisted he was not worried when both openers were dismissed cheaply and hailed his team's positive approach.

"In Twenty20 you tend to lose quick wickets because the guys are playing aggressively at the top," he said.

"We did lose wickets, but it didn't matter because the guys were positive and that's a good sign for the team.

"Kamran followed up his performance in the last one-dayer with this knock. He's batting superbly and I hope he carries his form to the World Twenty20."

Brad Haddin, leading the tourists in the absence of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, helped Australia to 42 without loss after four overs, but they lost their way thereafter.

"We were pretty much outplayed and we weren't on our game at all after that sixth over," he admitted. "It was a pretty disappointing result and it's a disappointing way to end a tour."

Australia have shown a weakness against spin throughout the series, but Haddin said: “I don't think it's too much to worry about. It's going to be different at the World Twenty.

"On tours, especially in one-off games such as this, it’s hard to get any momentum in a Twenty20 game.

"But it's different when you are playing a Twenty20 tournament because you’re focused.”