Aussies Proved Their Worth Again

Australia revealed their true character when they romped home in the final stretchof the tri-series title match against Pakistan on Saturday.

The world champions played their cards right at every stage of the game on a seeminglyunpredictable wicket. To be able to adapt to prevailing conditions is the sign of a champion side.

The tournament got completely marred by rain and it gave little time to the organisers to prepare the wickets. Onecould see dust popping up on almost every delivery right from the first over. But despite such unfavourable conditions,the Australians carried on with their job in an absolutely professional manner.

The wicket was at its worst in the first half of the game. Matthew Hayden tookon the responsibility and soon realised that staying at the wicket would be the key strategy. Thefirst half of the Australian innings saw the world champions struggling at little over two runs per over.

This is where the think-tank contributes to the team's cause. Understanding thenature of the wicket and trying to set up a realistic target is called the game plan. Any error in judging the situationwould have cost the team dear at this stage. 

While Hayden rallied the innings at one end, the others tried to chance their arms and take away as much as possible off thePakistan attack. Every batsman looked scratchy as the wicket offered very little for stroke making. But survival at thewicket was the need of the hour.

Andrew Symonds is a wonderful player of spin bowling. He changed gears with his improvised shots. AfterHayden's dismissal, it was the turn of Darren Lehman and Symonds to really turn the heat on Pakistan.

Symonds, who played a blinder of an innings against Pakistan in the World Cup opener, has developed a habit ofbeing a consistent performer against Pakistan. He not only played his part with his bat, but also came up with somesuperb athletic fielding to dismiss Malik and Afridi.

The run out of the in-form Malik was one of the high points of the match asYousuf Youhana and he were engaged in building up the innings. Malik played a shot to point and tried to steal asingle but Symond's throw to bowler Lehmann was too good and perfect.

As if this was not enough, Symonds displayed his utility when he was was brought back to bowl his offies. He chipped inwith two important wickets of opener Imran Farhat and skipper Inzamam-ul Haq to complete his heroic all round performance.

The Pakistani bowlers failed to make the most of it when the wicket was really soft in the early part of the innings.Shoaib Akthar seemed to have lost his sting somehow. Considering the nature of the wicket and his threatening pace,even the Aussies should have shuddered to face Akthar on such a track. But to my surprise, Akthar appeared to be the mostinnocuous of the Pakistani bowlers.

The speedster is having an ordinary run for a long time. He is no doubt a fiery bowler and an asset to any side he isplaying for. But the potential threat he possesses now seems to be a thing on paper only. On the field, Akthar is not doingany justice to his reputation for a long time now.

I am afraid to say that Akthar's excessive dependence on his ability to generate pace could prove costly to his owncareer. And since none of us get any younger with the progress of time, pace will be the first casualty in Akthar's case too.

As a fast bowler, he now has to make use of the skills he has developed over the years. But these days, all we see from thePakistani is his pace, not the skills he possesses.

The game got tighter at the end as the Pakistani batsmen showed some character.Youhana, who was doing well, was unfortunate to have been judged caught behind off BradHogg. The ball, I thought, brushed his thigh-pad and not the bat.

With the wicket deteriorating fast, the target of a run-a-ball, which looks easy otherwise, became tough.Under their new coach Bob Woolmer, Pakistan have made some definite progress. The Pakistan board's ability todeviate from the conventional way and bring in a foreign coach with proven track record has paid rich dividends.

PTI