A Royal Audience For Pakistan's Twenty20 Victory

A Royal Audience For Pakistan's Twenty20 Victory

Pakistan fans celebrate Pakistan's victory.

The Dubai Sports City Stadium was officially opened by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, ruler of Dubai, prior to the Twenty20 International between Pakistan and Australia on 7th May.

Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Rashid al Maktoum and minister of education and chairman of Emirates Cricket Board His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan were also in attendance, watching as Pakistan sealed a seven-wicket win after bowling Australia out for 108.

“We are honoured to receive His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Hamdan, and Sheikh Nahyan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium,” said Khalid Al Zarooni, President, Dubai Sports City. “The visit of His Highness highlights the commitment of the Government to making Dubai a world-renowned sporting destination.”

Pakistan won the match with 21 balls remaining in front of a crowd of 22,476.

A delighted Pakistan captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, commented:  “This is a great boost ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup. Any team can have their day in a Twenty20, but we are now seeing sides showing consistency in this form of the game.”

His counterpart, Brad Haddin, later to be fined for dissent, was disappointed: “We started well in the first five overs, but after that we were totally outplayed, and it looked like we had one foot on the plane. We were beaten tonight by a better Twenty20 Pakistan cricket side.”

It was the second Twenty20 meeting between the two sides following Pakistan's win in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.

© Cricket World 2009

Get the latest from Cricket World® with Facebook, twitter and YouTube.