Perth, Jan. 31: A wacky moment from Pakistan stand-in captain Shahid Afridi will cost him a spell on the sidelines as Australia completed a 5-0 series whitewash with an incident-filled two-wicket victory at the WACA here on Sunday.
Afridi, named captain for the day after Mohammad Yousuf withdrew due to a knee injury, was caught on camera biting the ball with Australia precariously placed at 178/7 and needing 35 more runs for victory off 30 balls to chase down Pakistan’s 212.Umpires replaced the ball straight away and the game was further spoiled when a ground invader tackled Pakistan opener Khalid Latif to the ground in the 47th over. Latif was unhurt in the incident and laughed it off but it could get serious for the management at the WACA if Cricket Australia and the ICC decide to scrutinise the matter further.Afridi was banned for two Twenty20 Internationals after pleading guilty to a ball-tampering charge. Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam confirmed that match referee Ranjan Madugalle had banned the T20 skipper after holding a hearing on the complaint by on-field umpires Asoka De Silva and Paul Reiffel immediately after the match.Meanwhile, Mike Hussey (40 n.o. off 46 balls), Nathan Hauritz (18 off 20 balls) and Ryan Harris ensured Australia sneaked over the line with four balls and two wickets to spare after Ricky Ponting’s 55 set up the chase.Set a modest 213 for victory, Australia were cruising at 122/3 in the 32nd over before losing three wickets for 28 — which included the wicket of Ponting and Adam Voges (24) — catapulted Pakistan back into the game. But Hussey, Mitchell Johnson (13) and Hauritz did enough to hold off Pakistan’s late charge.Earlier, Pakistan were tottering at 16/3 in the ninth over before dogged half-centuries from Umar Akmal (67 off 102 balls) and Fawad Alam (63 off 70) lifted the visitors to a total of respectability, with Alam last man out in the 50th over.In-form seamer Ryan Harris, man-of-the-match in the last two games, again tormented Pakistan with figures of 3/44 while Clint McKay (4/35) was also clinical.But it was Afridi’s bizarre incident that had everyone talking. Afridi, who claimed 2/31 from his 10 overs, was banned for one Test and two one-dayers in 2005 for rubbing his boots on the pitch in a Test against England. — Agencies