The Australians will go far towards qualifying for the semi-finals with victory in this penultimate Group A match, and they will be most content with their morning's work. Pakistan laboured through the middle stages of their innings and batted with little urgency with wickets in hand at the death, leaving Australia with a modest run-chase.
Wickets proved difficult to come by for the Australians, but with Pakistan's scoring rate rarely topping four-per-over, it hardly mattered. Brett Lee (1-30) and Shane Watson (2-32) were cast in the unfamiliar role of misers, and with only six extras conceded by the Australians over the course of the innings, the Pakistanis were offered little respite.
Mohammad Yousuf (45 off 69) and Kamran Akmal (44 off 63) were the most prolific of the Pakistani batsmen, however neither mastered the conditions or the bowlers. Misbah-ul-Haq looked more assured during his knock of 41 from 53 deliveries, but his dismissal - stepping on his stumps to a Watson wide in the final over - summed up a Pakistan innings that faltered out of the blocks.
Akmal and the promoted Shahid Afridi began the morning positively for Pakistan, but the introduction of Johnson into the attack prompted a reversal of Australia's fortunes. Johnson's first delivery surprised Afridi for pace and bounce, resulting in a top-edge and a diving catch for James Hopes at backward-square. The Australians might have capitalised soon after but for Nathan Hauritz's fumble of an Akmal mis-hit at deep cover, leaving Akmal and Younis Khan to reel off a methodical second-wicket partnership of 45.
With a half-century in sight, Akmal chopped a shorter delivery from Watson onto his stumps to signal the start of Australia's counterattack. Younis, in particular, struggled to adapt to the pace of the Centurion wicket and Australia's slower seamers, and it came as little surprise when he fell attempting to push the pace off Hopes for 18 from 49 deliveries.
Shoaib Malik threatened to lift the tempo of the innings with a sublime six over long-on off the bowling of Hopes, but later miscued to Ricky Ponting to become Johnson's 100th ODI victim. Johnson is the 14th Australian bowler to reach 100 wickets, and the fifth fastest. Yousuf eventually fell to Lee and Misbah to Watson as Pakistan failed to take advantage of their final power play.
