The rivalry between Pakistan and Australia in Test Cricket has been an exciting one with stars from both sides fighting numerous individual and team battles over the years.
However, when it comes to statistics, the Pakistanis find themselves having one of highest losing percentages (47%) against Australia in the purest form of cricket.
To complete the statistic, Pakistan have won only 24 per cent of their encounters against Australia and have drawn 29 per cent. However, South Africa have been the most difficult opponent, as the losing percentage for Pakistan rises to 52 per cent, however, the two teams have met only 23 times in Test cricket.
Moving on from numbers to the euphoria of watching these two nations locking horns in Test cricket, there have been fewer better sights than watching Lillee and Thompson bowling to Miandad and Zaheer, Imran running into trouble Border, Wasim and Waqar firing in against the Waughs, Warne challenging Anwar Inzamam or Akhtar steaming in against Ponting… the list is certainly a long one.
Irrespective of the final outcome of the game, an avid cricket fan would love to witness any of the individual encounters mentioned earlier on any given day. However, at the end of the day, and for generations to come, the team results matter more to determine the dominance of one team over the other.
Although Pakistan has been a fertile land when it comes to producing cricket legends, and some of these names as mentioned earlier may have won some of the individual battles, that hasn’t be translated into team victories on most of the occasions when playing against a top opponent like Australia in Test cricket.
The statistics dwindle further when we start analysing Pakistan’s Test performances in Australia.
So why hasn’t the unpredictability and flamboyance of Pakistan helped them win a single Test match in Australia in the last three series played down under between 1999-00 and 2009-10? They had to suffer three consecutive whitewashes at the hand of their hosts in this period, and being a Pakistani cricket fan, I am again nervous about the result of the ongoing series.
Is it due to the wickets with high clay content, weak domestic structure, quality of the opposition, defensive captaincy or something else? If these poor results are due to any of these reasons, then how come the same Pakistani team could manage Test victories in England, New Zealand and South Africa during the same period?
Why is it only in Australia where travelling Pakistani teams couldn’t win?
These are the sort of questions I asked myself as a teenager when there was a similar trend in ODIs against South Africa in the late 90s. I could see Pakistan with their self-confidence hit rock bottom whenever they played against the Proteas. Be it the one-day triangular series in South Africa in 1998, be it the 1999 World Cup match, or the 2003 and 2007 ODI series at home, Pakistan just couldn’t cross the finishing line even after getting so close.
It had become a routine when Pakistan managed to snatch defeat from jaws of victory playing against South Africa who themselves were tagged as ‘chokers’, especially in the World Cup.
However, the situation did change when Pakistan started to turn it around gradually. To me, changing the state of mind from being submissive to controlled aggression began with the ODI game against the South African side in Sharjah when the injured Shoaib Akhtar decimated the opponents while defending a modest total.
Pakistan ended up beating them not only in that match but also taking away the series with a win in an enthralling final. It took an inspired performance from Waqar Younis (4/63) who was making a comeback in the tournament which also involved India.
It was a dream come true for a frustrated cricket fan like me as I watched the final, and I still remember the satisfaction attached to that victory after defeating not only South Africa but also the mindset that believed beating the Proteas was impossible.
However, the ups and downs were still there, but Pakistan started competing at par with the Proteas in ODIs. As far as the bilateral series were concerned the drought ended when Pakistan managed to win in South Africa under Misbah-ul-Haq in November 2013 2-1.
This background is more than enough to conclude that there are more than just cricketing reasons when it comes to possessing the psychological advantage against a quality side in international sports. Beating Australia in Australia in Test cricket is certainly a tougher ask than beating South Africa in ODIs.
However, the approach and self-confidence required to achieve the feat isn’t too different in the two scenarios.
In these situations of repetitive failures against one opponent, there were always moments of individual brilliance that almost took Pakistan there. However, a comeback innings by one of the opposing batsmen or the usual Pakistani batting collapse took the result back to square one.
There is no worse feeling as a fan when your team is on its way to a comfortable victory and suddenly the game changes, and not only has your team has ended up losing the game, but the series and your trust.
Last time Pakistan won a Test match in Australia was 21 years back and that was in in a dead rubber as the series was already taken away by Australia.
To strengthen the argument, following is a brief summary of the two instances when Pakistan had the upper hand, competing with Australia to their potential but collapsing when it mattered the most. These matches are from the recent history of Pakistan visiting Australia from 1999-00 to 2009-10.
Pakistan in Australia (1999-00)
Second Test match in Hobart: Pakistan lost by four wickets
Pakistan had already lost the first Test by ten wickets despite reaching a reasonable total in the first innings. Hundreds by Michael Slater and Mark Waugh ensured a substantial lead for Australia to achieve the desired result without much hassle.
In the second Test match, it was imperative for Pakistan to keep the series alive and avenge the recent 1999 World Cup final loss to Australia. Pakistan’s ability to come back in the Test match resulted in setting a reasonable target of 369 runs which looked improbable at one stage when Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer were at the crease at 126-5.
It took innings of his life from Gilchrist, playing only his second Test match, to partner with Langer and win it for Australia and spoil it for the guests.
We were shocked – I was heading towards the school library with some classmates discussing cricket on the way, expecting a famous Pakistani victory, before we came to know of the result.
Pakistan not only lost the Test match but also the series. Australia cruised in the third Test match at the WACA, completing the whitewash courtesy a double century by Ricky Ponting who had been silent throughout the series.
This was an innings victory for one of the greatest Test sides of all time. The situation would have been entirely different had Pakistan stepped onto the WACA field at 1-1 rather than 2-0.
Pakistan in Australia: 2009-10
Second Test match at the SCG: Pakistan lost by 36 runs
Another instance of losing the most important Test match of the series. Another case of giving up after dominating for quite some time.
This was certainly the closest Pakistan came to victory, but they still lost the game and the series to leave the fans disappointed. An exceptional Pakistani victory was on the cards until Australia were allowed to come back into the game multiple times.
After bundling out Australia for a meagre 127 thanks to Mohammad Asif’s genius (6/41) and scoring 333 to take a substantial first innings lead, a comfortable victory seemed the most probable result.
However, the weak psychology again took over, the confidence in the abilities shattered, uncertainty prevailed for Pakistan and Micheal Hussey fought hard, thanks to Umar Akmal who dropped him more than once.
Despite Hussey’s heroics, the target of 176 wasn’t a tough one. But no, it was tough for the Pakistani batsmen who had again lost the mental battle to Nathan Hauritz who took a five-for to win the game and the series for Australia.
This wasn’t the first time that Pakistan had lost the battle of nerves in the second Test match of a series down under. The devastated body language of the Pakistanis also meant that Australia would seal the third consecutive whitewash against Pakistan in their own backyard as Pakistan also lost the third match by 231 runs in Hobart.
As I write this article, Pakistan are again finding it hard to handle the aggression after three days of first Test match against the flawless Aussies. This may not be the same invincible Australian team that had knocked Pakistan down in the earlier series, and they have been beaten by South Africa comprehensively at home recently.
For Pakistan, this Australian side may still be too hot to handle with the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood at their best.
We have to wait and see whether the serene and calm Misbah-ul-Haq can turn it around again to add another first to his illustrious Test captaincy career. He is the best man for the job as it was his captaincy that ensured a whitewash against Australia in UAE couple of years ago.
Misbah and his team certainly possess the conventional Pakistani flare to surprise Aussies in their own backyard and reaffirm the stamp of unpredictability by again spoiling the predictions of cricket analysts and fans like me.
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