Pakistan displayed a surprising lack of quality against spin as Australia eased to a six-wicket triumph in a Twenty20 international in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

After winning the toss and being sent into bat by captain Shahid Afridi, Pakistan struggled to correctly control the pace of their innings, and Glenn Maxwell was on hand to take full advantage.

The spinning all-rounder, who opened the bowling for his side, cashed in to remove three of the top four players in Pakistan's lineup, with leg-spinner Cameron Boyce joining in to take two wickets of his own.

After collapsing to 33-4, Saad Nasim led a brief recovery with a battling 25, but Pakistan were only able to post a total of 96-9 from their 20 overs.

Despite losing four wickets in reply, it quickly became clear that the total was never going to trouble Australia as David Warner struck an unbeaten 53 from 39 balls to lead his team to victory in 14 overs.