HOBART: Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam had on Sunday wished for a sincere effort as his charges prayed for divine intervention in the form of rain to save their third and final Test against Australia here at the Bellerive Oval.
On Monday, both the wishes were granted but only in small and ineffective doses as Australia cruised to yet another 3-0 clean sweep, thrashing Pakistan by 231 runs to record their 12th consecutive win against the visitors.
Khurram Manzoor, the under-fire No. 3, came out with the sincere effort needed by Pakistan with a resolute 77 after batting for 315 minutes but only managed to delay the inevitable. With no other heroes around, he kept Pakistan alive in the first session with a 66-run stand for the seventh wicket with Mohammad Aamer (30 not out) but finally ran out of patience to allow Australia to collect their fifth Test win of the summer.
The partly cloudy Hobart sky seemed promising all morning, from Pakistan’s point of view, but never really delivered. There was little drizzle during the lunch break but the heavy rain Pakistan were praying for never fell and the Aussies returned for the second session to finish off the job a little less than an hour after lunch.
For Australia, Nathan Hauritz was once again the hero. After having played his role on the last days of the first two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, the under-estimated off-spinner, delivered again with a haul of 3-30 that included Khurram’s scalp.
Hauritz, who finished as the leading wicket-taker of the series with 18 victims at 23.05, helped the Aussies wrap up the Pakistani innings after lunch. The visiting team took lunch at 168-6 still in with a faint chance of salvaging a draw but was bowled out for 206 in 86.2 overs, with Hauritz doing most of the damage.
When Pakistan resumed their innings at 103-4, their only hope of saving their fourth consecutive 3-0 whitewash lay in the sort of showers that had swept through the Tasmanian capital on Sunday evening.
Some of the more optimistic Pakistan fans may have hoped that Shoaib Malik will go on to anchor the Pakistan innings and save the day for the tourists. But the former Pakistan captain, who had hit a fine 50 in the first innings, didn’t last very long. He added just one more to his overnight 18, falling to an excellent Siddle delivery.
Debutant Sarfraz (5) was never comfortable in his 44-ball stay at the crease before getting dismissed in an unusual fashion. He edged Hauritz and the ball went through the hands of Clarke after clipping Haddin’s gloves. Then it bounced up after hitting Clarke’s boot and the Australian vice-captain completed the catch.
Khurram, 23, then found an able partner in Aamer and the duo held fort till the end of an extended first session. In the process, Khurram completed his third 50 in seven Tests from 194 balls with the help of five boundaries.
He exhibited great resolve but finally a lapse in concentration led to his downfall. After attempting a big one off Hauritz, the youngster went for cut shot the very next ball and was caught well by Brad Haddin. Pakistan were now 189-7 and their ship was sinking fast.
Hauritz then spun one out of the rough and caught the edge of Umar Gul’s (0) bat and Clarke took a great catch at first slip. In the very next over, Mitchell Johnson took his first wickets of the match by dismissing Mohammad Asif (0) with an attempted yorker. Danish Kaneria survived for almost four overs before becoming Siddle’s (3-25) third victim of the innings.
Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, was adjudged the man-of-the-match for his 209 and 89 while all-rounder Shane Watson was named as the man-of-the-series for his 346 runs at 69 and five wickets at 25.
By continuing their winning spree over Pakistan, the Aussies have now equaled the record for the most consecutive Test wins by any country over any other nation, matching the 12-game streak held by Sri Lanka over Bangladesh.
