Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has expressed his belief that the partnership between Steven Smith and Shane Watson was the "most crucial" part of his side's World Cup quarter-final win over Pakistan.

Following the dismissals of David Warner (24) and captain Michael Clarke (8), Smith and Watson led the attack, with the former hitting 65 off 69 balls.

Watson, who survived a dropped catch early on, finished unbeaten on 64 as Australia reached their target of 214 with 97 balls remaining.

"An exciting game, they threw everything at us and that spell from Wahab Riaz was one of the best I've seen for a while," Lehmann told the BBC's Test Match Special.

"Credit to Watto for getting through it, he got a bit fortunate with the dropped catch, but the Smith, Watson partnership was probably the most crucial one in the game. Steve's had an excellent summer, he settled the team down and did the job."

Australia will face India in the semi-finals.