Maxwell slams door shut on Pakistan in final over as Australia complete sweep

Pakistan stumble to defeat despite needing just two runs off the final over with two wickets in hand

Steve Smith, right, of Australia bats against Pakistan during the third one-day international at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on October 12, 2014. Christopher Pike / The National

ABU DHABI // The only real winner in Australia's one-run win over Pakistan on Sunday night was Misbah-ul-Haq, and he was not even playing.

All evening Saturday and again Sunday night, the air was rife with speculation about Misbah’s decision to step down for the final one-day international against ­Australia.

The speculation was whether he had stepped down or had been pushed and was facing the end of a long career. It gave a dead rubber some life.

Shahid Afridi, Misbah’s running rival over four years, took over the captaincy but failed to halt a dismal run of form: four consecutive ODI losses and nine in their past 10 internationals.

During the game, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said the captaincy was still Misbah's, should he want it.

If Pakistan had won Sunday night, it would not have been easy to remove Afridi. They did not – Afridi fell to another abysmal dismissal to boot – and the ball remains in Misbah’s court.

In truth, the problems with Pakistan run far deeper than any individual.

Their batting, for a start, remains a neurotic breakdown waiting to happen. It is perplexing because there is talent, evident in patches at the start of the last game and for much of this chase.

They began well here, too. At one stage, as Asad Shafiq and Sohaib Maqsood were putting together an intelligent and perky 74-run stand, Pakistan were cruising along at 154 for three with more than 17 overs left.

Not for the first time, though, one of their younger talents got himself out – Maqsood, in this case – and from then on the story became all too familiar. Shafiq fell soon after, right after the drinks break.

Afridi arrived, aspirations no doubt in his mind, but went immediately. Thereafter it was clear Pakistan would not walk this down, though the implosion was spectacular; they needed two off the last over with two wickets in hand and still lost.

Afridi did at least have a better day in the field, but that is hardly the problem: with the ball, Pakistan have been competitive in all the matches in the series.

He was instrumental in shaping a clampdown after David Warner and Steve Smith had begun menacingly. Each made a 50, but the dismissal of Warner, a return catch to Afridi, halted Australia.

Having reached 100 in the 21st over for the loss of just Aaron Finch, the tourists could only add a further 131.

It was a commendable performance, given the bandaged nature of Pakistan’s attack: once Wahab Riaz was ruled out, they were missing five front-line bowlers.

Yet Afridi and Sohail Tanvir kept the lid tightly on the rest of the Australian batting.

For all the pressure on Misbah, his counterpart George Bailey has not had a fun series with the bat and was out here for a third-ball duck.

Both, however, had reason to smile by the end.

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