In the second match of the Australasia Cup 1986, Pakistan and Australia clashed against each other. The venue for this match was the Sharjah C.A. Stadium. This match was played on 11th April 1986. AJ Gaynor and DM Archer were the umpires for this match. This was a 50 overs a side match. The captain of the Australian side was Ray Bright and of the Pakistan side was Javed Miandad. Australia won the toss and opted to bat.
Australia innings
David Boon and Geoff Marsh were the opening batsmen for Australia. They displayed an opening partnership of 63 runs. The first batsman to walk back to the pavilion was Marsh. He was caught by Mudassar Nazar off the bowling of Abdul Qadir, when he had scored 26 runs. Dean Jones, who was the No. 3 batsman, was leg before wicket to Tauseef Ahmed on 8, when the team’s score was 79. Boon played a solid innings of 44 runs in 81 deliveries. He was caught by Mohsin Khan off the bowling of Tauseef Ahmed, when the score was 90. At this stage, Greg Ritchie and Steve Waugh exhibited a partnership of 50 runs. Waugh was caught by Zulqarnain off the bowling of Wasim Akram on 26 off 37 balls. Greg Ritchie and Greg Matthews also played well and made a partnership of 55 runs. Matthews was caught by Javed Miandad off the bowling of Mohsin Kamal. He made 20 runs in 20 deliveries inclusive of 1 boundary. When Matthews was out, the scoreboard read 195 for 5. Craig McDermott was run out for 1 and Tim Zoehrer was also run out for 5. Greg Ritchie remained unbeaten on 60. He faced 72 deliveries and smashed 2 boundaries. At the end of 50 overs, Australia scored 202 runs for 7 wickets. For Pakistan, Tauseef Ahmed bowled 10 overs, out of which 1 was maiden, gave away 19 runs and took 2 wickets. Abdul Qadir also bowled well. He took 1 wicket while conceding 26 runs in 10 overs.
Pakistan innings
The Pakistani opening batsmen, Mudassar Nazar and Mohsin Khan played excellently and created a partnership of 80 runs. This partnership broke when Mohsin Khan was trapped leg before wicket by Ray Bright. He scored 46 runs in 79 balls and smashed 6 boundaries. Mudassar Nazar’s batting was exemplary. He amassed 95 runs in 140 deliveries inclusive and 5 fours. He was bowled by Bruce Reid. Pakistan did not loose any further wickets. Rameez Raja remained unbeaten on 56 off 76 balls. Manzoor Elahi was not out on 2. In 49.1 overs, Pakistan scored 206 runs for 2 wickets and won the match. Due to this win, the team entered the semi-final of the championship. For his mammoth score, Mudassar Nazar won the Man of the Match accolade.
