An unbeaten half-century from Kamran Akmal helped Pakistan finish their series against Australia on a high with a seven-wicket win in the one-off Twenty20 international in Dubai today.
Akmal hit 59 off 42 deliveries and put on 85 runs for the third wicket with stand-in skipper Misbah-ul-Haq as Pakistan comfortably chased down Australia's measly total of 108.
Fast bowler Umar Gul and leg-spinner Shahid Afridi had turned in superb spells as Australia were bowled out in 19.5 overs.
Gul produced figures of four wickets for eight runs in his four overs, but it was Afridi's spell, which yielded three wickets, which proved the more destructive.
Defending a small total, Australia had started off brightly but ran out of steam.
Brett Lee, playing his first international match since December, should have had the wicket of Salman Butt off his first ball, but instead conceded a boundary as an edge flew through the hands of Marcus North at slip.
Lee, however, snared his first victim when he had opener Ahmed Shehzad caught at midwicket and Butt quickly followed his partner back to the pavilion with just 23 runs on the board.
Butt's departure brought Pakistan's Misbah and Akmal together and the two took up the chase in earnest.
Akmal had driven Lee and Ben Hilfenhaus for boundaries in successive overs and kept the runs flowing, allowing Misbah to slip into a groove.
Misbah survived a lucky reprieve when he was dropped by James Hopes, who put down a sharp return catch, and celebrated by driving the bowler for his first boundary in that same over.
Akmal accelerated the scoring with consecutive sixes off Hopes' second over - in which the bowler conceded a total of 15 - and then slammed Nathan Bracken for his third six.
Misbah then miscued a pull off Hauritz to Bracken at short fine leg, but the victory was achieved in anti-climactic fashion with Hauritz firing a wide down the leg side.
Watson (33) and Haddin (24) had given Australia a flying start in their innings, the two putting on a rapid 42 for the first wicket.
The duo had made Pakistan's new-ball bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Sohail Tanvir pay dearly for erring in line and length, hammering the ball around the park as the run-rate blossomed.
Watson was the more pugnacious, clobbering Shoaib for a four off the first ball he faced and then clubbing Tanvir for three consecutive boundaries in his second over.
Misbah then shuffled his bowlers around and brought on Gul who struck immediately.
Gul, however, was fortunate as his leg-before appeal against Watson was upheld by umpire Aleem Dar, although replays suggested an inside edge.
Australia scored 53 from the six overs of powerplays, but Afridi turned the direction of the game when he came on at the start of the seventh over.
The leg-spinner first got rid of Hopes, rapping him on the back pad as he attempted a slog-sweep and missed, and then sent back Andrew Symonds for a first-ball duck, trapping him in front and gaining a favourable decision from umpire Zameer Haider.
Afridi began with a rare double-wicket maiden and had his third victim in the next over when he bowled David Hussey via and inside edge.
Shoaib Malik then got into the act, sending back Haddin, who stepped out to cart the off-spinner into the stands but miscued to Gul at long-on, and also accounting for Callum Ferguson.
Australia had half their line-up back in the pavilion with just 10.3 overs gone and continued to lose wickets as Gul returned to rip through the tail.
The fast bowler snapped up the wickets of Hauritz and Lee and ended the resistance from debutant North (20) by bowling him in his final over.
