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Anticlimax Australia thrashes Pakistan to win Cricket World Cup
Posted: Monday September 06, 1999 02:46 PM
LONDON (CNN/SI) -- In the wake of a match-fixing and bribery scandal, a lackluster West Indies one-day tour and amid speculation that Shane Warne was beyond his best, Australia comprehensively thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets in the final of the Cricket World Cup at Lord's on Sunday. Warne was easily the best bowler of the day as he found his way into Pakistan's timberyard, taking four wickets for 33 runs and helped dismiss Pakistan for 132. After winning the toss Sunday morning Pakistan elected to bat. The match was delayed by half an hour following a heavy shower that took place as many of the fans arrived at the ground. Steve Waugh realized a long cherished dream as Australia emphatically outplayed Pakistan. After leg-spinner Warne had taken 4-33 and skittled out Pakistan for 132, openers Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh, hurried Australia to a momentous victory with a 75-run opening stand to finish an anticlimactic encounter with 29.1 overs to spare. Left-hander Darren Lehmann cut medium paceman Azhar Mahmood to the point boundary as Australia scored 133 for two in 20.1 overs to win by the biggest margin in a World Cup final. It was also the shortest final in the history lasting just 59.1 overs and 4 1/2 hours. Australia became only the second team to chase a total and prove victorious in a World Cup final after Sri Lanka successfully defeated Mark Taylor's side at Lahore in 1996. Waugh, who became the first Australian to complete 1,000 runs in World Cup cricket was unbeaten on 37 while Lehmann was 13 not out. Steve Waugh's team emulated the efforts of the evergreen Allan Border's Australians in 1987 when they won the Cup for the first time with the current captain on the lineup. It was another feather in the cap for Waugh who took over the captaincy of the most accomplished test nation of the '90s from a successful Taylor early this year. Waugh and all-rounder Tom Moody are the only surviving members of the victorious '87 side in the current team. "It was tough all the way," Waugh said after claiming the winners check for US$300,000. "I thought the defining moment for us was the semifinal, but you've still got to make it happen on the day." Waugh also lifted the first World Cup Trophy, crafted in silver and gilt and worth US$43,000 and standing 60 centimeters tall and weighing 11 kilograms. Hitting a six and eight boundaries, Gilchrist raced to his half century off 33 balls but fell three balls later for 54 runs while No.3 Ricky Ponting was dismissed for 24 off 27 balls with three boundaries. The Australians showed a great character of resilience throughout the 42-game tournament and fought its way back from the brink of elimination when it lost to Pakistan by 10 runs at Headingley on May 23. Its ability to come from a nerve-wrecking win and then a tie against South Africa in the last two outings was simply awesome. Australia's efforts Sunday badly exposed the temperamental Pakistan outfit who looked rigid and seemed overawed by the occasion. Skipper Wasim Akram's decision to bat first backfired on Pakistan and it never recovered from a devastating six-over spell by Glenn McGrath, although the fast bowler took only one wicket. After pre-match showers had delayed the start by 30 minutes, McGrath and Damien Fleming made full use of a freshened-up surface to have the Pakistan batsmen reeling. Then Warne's leg spin sliced open the middle order. Man of the Match Warne, who bowled Australia to a tie in the semifinal against South Africa with another four wickets, was once again unplayable as he made full use of the pitch and the uneven bounce. From the moment the blond Australian bowled Ijaz Ahmed with a big leg-break that kept low, Pakistan's predicament was evident and from 77 for three in the 24th overs went crashing to 132, the lowest innings total in a final. The previous lowest was the West Indies' 140 against India here in 1983. Warne's efforts put him on par with New Zealander Geoff Allott as the leading wicket taker with 20 scalps apiece and in the last three games the Australian had claimed 11 wickets. After the extras finished as the top scorer in the Pakistan innings -- 25 inclusive of 10 leg byes, 13 wides and two no-balls -- Ijaz's 22 figured as the highest contribution by a batsman. It was Australia's sixth straight win only broken by a tie in the last outing. In what probably will be Waugh's last World Cup the 34-year old put behind the disappointment of losing in '96 when he was the vice-captain to Taylor as he led from front when it really mattered. The strong-willed Australian captain had promised to go all the way and win the World Cup for the country and lived-up to his promise. He hit a remarkable 120 not out against South Africa in the Super Six to win a semifinal berth and again produced a half century under pressure in the semifinal and inspire a great tie. Pakistan simply had no answer against the rampant Australians who were simply awesome on the day. "We were beaten by a better side," Wasim conceded later. West Indies is the only other team to win the Cup twice in seven tournaments, triumphing in 1975 and '79. McGrath who made inroads to the Pakistan batting with the wicket of opener Wajahatullah Wasti when Mark Waugh pulled off a spectacular catch, ended the innings in a similar fashion when Ponting took a blinder at second slip. McGrath finished with 2-13 in nine overs to take his series tally to 18 wickets while Moody took 2-17.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||||
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