Australia flexed their bowling muscles and produced a resilient batting display to cruise into the World Cup semifinal by defeating Pakistan by six wickets on Friday at Adelaide Oval.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan kept on losing wickets at regular junctures and were eventually bundled out for 213 runs within 49.5 overs.
Pakistan suffered early blows when they lost both openers Ahmed Shehzad (5) and Sarfraz Ahmed (10) for cheap.
However, skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (34) and Haris Sohail (41) tried to show some resistances as the duo constructed a 73-run stand for the third wicket before their respective dismissals.
Subsequently, rest of the batting order wilted under pressure as Umar Akmal (20), Shahid Afridi (23) and Sohaib Maqsood (29) failed to convert good start into big innings.
Man-of-the-Match Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers for Australia as he claimed four wickets after being recalled to the side, and was substantially underpinned by Mitchell Starc (2), the leading wicket taker of the tournament, and Glenn Maxwell (2).
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Pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson and all-rounder James Faulkner scalped one wicket each to maintain pressure on the Pakistan batsmen.
Chasing a modest target of 214, Australia recovered from a shaky start as they lost Aaron Finch (2) and David Warner (24) off Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz's deliveries.
Pakistan pace spearhead Riaz delivered one of the finest performance of his career as he kept mounting pressure on Australian batsmen, and eventually scalped Australian skipper Michael Clarke's wicket for mere eight runs.
Following the dismissal of the skipper, Steve Smith (65) and Shane Watson steadily built the innings as the duo put an 89-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Smith was trapped lbw by Ehsan Adil before big-hitting batsman Maxwell (44*) and Watson (64*) steered their team to victory with 97 balls remaining.
A shoddy fielding display subdued Riaz's scintillating efforts as Watson and Maxwell's catches were dropped by Rahat and Sohaib respectively.
With the win, Australia will next meet defending champions India on March 26 in Sydney to book a place in the final.
