By Meg Anderson
LONDON (TheSportsNext) September 5, 2012: Australia defeated Pakistan by three wickets in the third and final One Day International to win the series 2-1 on Monday but the series was very well-fought and only better fielding by the Aussies separated the two quality cricketing sides.
Australia won the first match by four wickets before Pakistan rallied and clinched the second match by seven wickets while the third match went to the wire and Australia beat the home side by only three wickets.
Have you observed the common factor in all the three results? Yes, all the matches were won by the teams batting second which gives us a clear indication that toss was the prime factor in the outcome of the matches.
However, there were five other reasons why Australians were able to defeat Pakistan in their “backyard” and I’m going to state them here as under.
1: Australia Oozing With Confidence
Australia and Pakistan both had to face series defeats prior to their meeting in the United Arab Emirates where England mauled Aussies by 4-0 in the five-match One Day International series while Sri Lanka outclassed Pakistan by 3-1 in the five encounters.
However, Australian cricket team has a strong character which they showed in the series against Pakistan as they never looked short of confidence with the ball, bat and in the field where they kept cutting at least 20-30 runs in every match besides hitting the stumps regularly.
On the other hand, Pakistanis looked perturbed and their body language was never positive in the field as they kept missing their targets on run-out chances, chased balls in the outfield with tired legs, dived here and there with no real intent, and then dropped some important catches.
Not to forget, the sheer difference between the quality and experience of the two opposing wicketkeepers, i.e. Mathew Wade and Kamran Akmal. While Mathew Wade showed how better wicketkeeper he is, Kamran Akmal once again lived to his reputation of dropping crucial chances at critical junctures of the game. Thankfully, this time there was no uproar of match fixing or spot fixing against Kamran Akmal.
2: Better Skills Set
Before the series, it was said that the series would be a battle between spin and fast bowling and an experienced looking Pakistan will have an edge over a rather young looking Australian side. However, what we saw in the UAE was a sheer contrast of the above observation.
Australians showed great application of their skills by using fast bowlers on the pitches which were not suited for their type of bowling but Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson still made the new ball do the talking as they kept putting Pakistani batsmen under pressure for the best part of the series.
Especially Mitchell Starc was the player of the series as he grabbed 13 wickets from three matches and Pakistani batsmen had no answer to his application of basics of fast bowling. Starc kept hitting the pitch hard and hitting it with the seam which not only made the ball to skid more but also cramped batsmen on the move.
When it came to batting, skipper Michael Clarke showed his teammates how to bat on these surfaces and set the tone in the first One Day International. Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Goerge Bailey, Mathew Wade, and Glenn Maxwell followed his example in the later matches and thwarted a quality spin bowling attack of Pakistan.
If we look at how Pakistan played this series, it is learnt that they showed no application whatsoever and apart from Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and to some extent Abdur Rehman, none of the other bowlers could use the favorable conditions to their advantage. Talking about Pakistani batsmen, there was nothing to talk about apart from opening batsman Nasir Jamshed who showed great promise by applying himself as per the conditions. Mohammad Hafeez did match him in the last ODI but Pakistan’s main concern remained their middle and lower middle order batting which failed to carry on the momentum provided by their openers.
3: Ability to Absorb Pressure
Interestingly, Australian youngsters not only showed better application but they also exhibited how strong they mentally were as George Bailey in the first game and Glenn Maxwell in the final ODI thwarted Pakistani bowlers in a pressure-cooker-like situations.
On the other hand, Pakistan batsmen looked fragile, especially in the Batting Powerplays where they continued losing their wickets owing to airy-fairy shots. Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, and Kamran Akmal, all played reckless shots during the 35-40 overs period and Pakistan lost both the games in that very area.
4: Young Players Taking the Lead
I must say Australian young cricketers showed how ready they were for the international cricket but on the flip side Pakistani players failed to match their readiness as pressure always got the worst of them on critical situations.
Whether it was bowling or batting, Australian youngsters stepped up their game to dent Pakistan big time, whether it was the five-wicket haul of Mitchell Starc in the first match or the quick-fired half century by Glenn Maxwell in the third match on a pitch which offered no assistance to slogging or hard-hitting style of batting.
5: Captain Leading From The Front
It was probably the most important factor which favored Australia big time because Michael Clarke looked far better planner and batsman as compared to his opposite number Misbah ul Haq who kept locking him in a shell when a lot was expected from him.
As a captain, you have to inspire your team to achieve the unachievable and Michael Clarke did that with the half century in the first game which eventually was the main factor behind Australia’s victory other than George Bailey’s effort. His half century injected confidence in the young Australians and they started believing in their abilities and backed themselves against the likes of Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez, and Abdur Rehman.
On the other hand, Pakistani skipper was the biggest failure in batting department and the only time he looked in some sort of touch was in the first game where he played an irresponsible shot in the Batting Powerplay overs to literally gift his wicket away.
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