Lord’s was the venue for another `historic’ event, the grand finale of the NatWest Series between Pakistan and Australia

Rafi Nasim23-Jun-2001Lord’s was the venue for another `historic’ event, the grand finale of the NatWest Series between Pakistan and Australia. Tipped as a chance for Pakistan to avenge its defeat in the WC 99 final, it was far removed from it but more of a full confirmation that Australia are worthy World Champions.The end was horrifying for Pakistan because they suffered a defeat worse than in the World Cup, losing by 9 wickets this time. It may not have actually been one of their worst performances but certainly was disappointing, especially so, after Pakistan had lately shown an admirable resurgence of fighting spirit and reached the finals after defeating England thrice and Australia once.
Gilchrist with a thumping cover drive in the Australian innings
Photo © CricInfo
Once more at Lord’s, batting first, the Pakistan team was absolutely off-colour, getting to only 152, nowhere near a `match winning’ total against a side as strong and well balanced as Australia. Surprisingly, the bowlers also proved as inefficient and ineffective as the batsmen. Not being able to create any impact, they allowed the Australians a comfortable victory by 9 wickets in 26 overs. Adam Gilchrist (76*), Ricky Ponting (35*) and Mark Waugh (36) romped their team home.After scoring a brilliant 79 in the last encounter against Australia, Saleem Elahi succeeded in snatching the opener’s slot from Shahid Afridi but failed to prove his class. He was out for 10 with Pakistan’s score at 28. The star opener Saeed Anwar (27) followed him, caught by Michael Bevan at long on after he foolishly skied a ball from Ian Harvey. It was a dismal start.
Inzamam is out lbw to this Warne delivery
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At 47 for 2 and 50 of the innings coming in the 16th over, it was by no means a promising start. With 2 more wickets falling in quick succession Pakistan was down in the dumps. While Yousuf Youhana (11) was run out attempting a run that was not there, Younis Khan offered an easy catch to Shane Warne in the slips and walked of. It brought Pakistan down to a disappointing 60 for 4.Giving no liberties to the batsmen to score runs and clinching wickets at the same time, Australia was in full command of the game. With only 78 runs in 25 overs Pakistan was in a precarious situation. Striving to get out of the tight corner, Abdur Razzaq tried to pull one from outside the off stump and was caught at mid wicket by Shane Warne off Brett Lee after scoring 24 useful runs.Pakistan suffered their biggest setback when Inzamzm-ul-Haq (23) playing well forward with his leg stretched fully was declared lbw off Shane Warne. Inzamam, a player capable of taking the side out of the worst crisis was distraught, for he thought there was enough doubt when playing so far forward. Most modern umpires would have given him that benefit. Strangely, the electronic indicator also did not come into operation. Pakistan was now down to 92 for 6.
Mahmood is clean bowled by Shane Warne
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Facing a chaotic situation, Azhar Mahmood (1) was bowled by Shane Warne rendering Pakistan to 110 for 7. Then followed a valuable 41 run partnership between Rashid Latif (23) and Wasim Akram (17) and lifted the score to a more hopeful 151 for 8. But the tail did not have the nerve to survive any longer and Pakistan succumbed meekly to 152 in 42.3 overs. Shane Warne grabbed 3 wickets while Ian Harvey and Brett Lee shared 2 each.Pakistan’s insipid batting, timid approach and the tendency to throw away wickets in the wake of marvelously tight bowling by Australia were the factors responsible for its collapse. Saeed Anwar emerging as the highest scorer with only 27 runs showed how Pakistan’s batting lacked any substance and application.Defending a small target of 153, Pakistan bowlers were under tremendous pressure and despite a good line maintained by Wasim and Waqar, the openers Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh were not perturbed. They kept scoring runs with confidence picking up 39 in 10 overs.The bowlers failed to create an impact and the score kept mounting at a fast pace. Pakistan got a consolation break when Mark Waugh was run out in a mix up, gpong for a 3rd run from a shot off Razzaq after playing a solid innings of 36. Australia was 78 for 1.
A good natured crowd on the pitch at Lord’s at the end of the match
Photo © CricInfo
Adam Gilchrist who had stood like an impregnable wall against Pakistan in almost all matches, completed his 50 in 77 balls with the help of 4 fours and 2 towering sixes hit off Razzaq. This was followed by 100 of the Australian innings in 22 overs. A grand victory for Australia was written on the wall. With the target getting closer and 9 wickets in hand, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting went on the rampage. During his spree, Ponting also lifted Razzaq to square leg for a mighty six.The ultimate came when Gilchrist drove Azhar Mahmood to the 3rd man boundary to elevate the total to 156 for 1. Australia defeated Pakistan fair and square by an impressive margin of 9 wickets. Adam Gilchrist remained not out with a fabulous innings of 76 while Ricky Ponting was unbeaten with a quick fire 36 in 23 balls.It was Australia’s day all the way and with this marvellous performance, they overwhelmed Pakistan in all departments of the game. Not being able to clinch a wicket it was, in contrast, a day of gloom for the Pakistan bowlers.