The year 1998 witnessed this Australian cricket team doing something that any sporting team would give up the ghost for – thrashing Pakistan at home by 3-0 in a Test series – Australia’s first in Pakistan in 39 years.
This occured on 26th October, 1998. It was a great triumph that ended almost 40 years of hardship for Australians who had never won in Pakistan.
McGrath’s Fiery Bowling Gets the Ball Rolling
Australia’s triumphs were largely attributed to the Protean performance of Glenn McGrath with the ball as he bowled magnificently to claim Pakistan’s lower order in the first dig taking five wickets for 66 runs.
McGrath bowled beautiful line and length which put pressure on them and got the Australians a much-needed 28-run first-innings lead.
Not only did his aggressive performance give a fortress to the Aussies in terms of controlling the match, but he also put the kind of platform from where the series–winning felt easy.
With the first innings lead set up, the Australians were keen on keeping the game on the large to deny Pakistan any chance for a comeback on the last days of the test.
Australian bowlers played a very good bowling part considering that Pakistani batting was always on the back foot after the first two sessions.
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Langer’s patient knock of 71 must have been added to Australia’s dominant second innings total.
As was the case in the first innings, Australia changed their strategy in the second innings to come up with a huge score that bailed them out of a game against Pakistan.
Opener Justin Langer is one of the architects of this innings; He posted a fine 51, taking nearly four hours for the innings.
This laid a good platform for Australia, and they went on to increase this lead further.
Langer and the team well managed their time and built a very constant momentum that resulted in a total of 390 in 142.3 overs, effectively ruling out Pakistan’s possibility of a win.
Ijaz Ahmed’s Resilient Hundred in Pakistan’s Reply
Still, taking the heat on for Pakistan’s Ijaz Ahmed made a remarkable bit in the latter half of the match.
The great trait against the Australians was in evidence, and Ijaz yet again made a century that was the sixth against them, even though the game seemed likely to end in a draw.
The year 1998 Australian tour of Pakistan is still fresh in memories and fondly accompanied by McGrath’s bowling
performance, Langer’s hardworking nature, and the game plan that let Australia win a series in Pakistan after about 40 years.
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References:
IndiaToday.com
NDTVSports.com
