A defiant Steve Smith tried to delay the inevitable before Pakistan crushed Australia by 356 runs in the second and final Test to complete a 2-0 series victory in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Having set the visitors an improbable 603-run victory target, Pakistan claimed the remaining six wickets in a little over a session on the final day to secure their first test series victory against Australia in 20 years.
The win also saw them leapfrog England, Sri Lanka and India to rise to number three in Test rankings, behind South Africa and Australia. Smith (97) added 107 runs with Mitchell Marsh in a rare display of Australian resistance in the two-match series before his post-lunch dismissal triggered a collapse with the visitors losing their last five wickets for only eight runs to be all out for 246.
Zulfiqar Babar (5-120) and Yasir Shah (3-44) once again laid bare Australia's spin frailties even though Pakistan were without their main spinner Saeed Ajmal who has been banned for an illegal action.
Pakistan captain Misbah was adjudged man-of-the-match for his twin centuries in the match, the second of which equalled Viv Richards' record for the fastest Test century in 56 balls. Run-machine Younus Khan, who hit two centuries and a double hundred in his four innings, was the obvious choice for the man-of-the-series award. Resuming on 143-4, Smith and Marsh (47) frustrated the Pakistani bowlers with a century stand, showing the stomach for fight which was missing in their team-mates.
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