On This Day May 23, 1999: Pakistan beat Australia by 10 runs at Leeds

[Khabri420]

In what would be a closely contested match, Australia won the toss and put Pakistan in to bat. As was often the case, Pakistan's top order failed to build any big partnership and set a platform for the middle order. It was the 118-run partnership between Inzamam and Abdul Razzaq for the 4th wicket that provided the Pakistan innings so much needed stability. Inzamam top-scored the innings with 81 while Abdul Razzaq scored 60. Towards the end of the innings, Moin Khan played a cameo scoring 31 run off 12 balls, lifting Pakistan to 275.

In response, Australia lost Gilchrist early in pursuit of the target of 276 runs. However, Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting steadied the innings before Australia lost 3 wickets in the space of 10 runs, leaving them struggling at 101-4. With Pakistan in control at this stage, Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan got together for a 113-run partnership - much like the one between Inzamam and Abdul Razzaq. With Australia placed comfortably and well within sight of victory, Wasim Akram broke the partnership as he got rid of Bevan. On the other end, Shoaib Akhtar was bowling with great pace and aggression as could be seen during the words spoken between Steve Waugh and him. Shoaib did have the last laugh as he got rid of Mark Waugh with an inswinging yorker. This was the wicket that turned the match back in Pakistan's favor as Steve Waugh had begun to play more aggressively. There after, Wasim Akram did the rest - getting rid of McGrath and Martyn in the final over of the math

While the match went on till the second last ball of the innings, Pakistan comfortably won the match by 10 runs in the end/

Scorecard: http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/65208.html

 

[vandokkum]

Saw the match live, it was the last match Australia lost in 12 years

 

[London_Lahori]

14 years already? I remember playing a cricket match that day knowing Pakistan got 270 odd. On the way back in the car was waiting for the news on the radio to hear if Pakistan had won. Near the Blackwall tunnel me and my dad got confirmation and were ecstatic!

Then the highlights at night time! Good days.

 

[Down2Earth]

we were spoilt watching these greats growing up, now we get to see hafeez and shafiq

 

[Wasim_Waqar]

This was cricket at its very very best. Two brilliant teams with no weaknesses in all honesty. Great pace attacks, great spinners,, good stroke players and guys who could hit big

It was a shame that the final was a no contest.

 

[Hitman]

we were spoilt watching these greats growing up, now we get to see hafeez and shafiq

Give them some time, they too might turn out to be greats in the future.

 

[Inzy's Aloo]

One of my favourite victories.

That 1999 Pakistan team may not go down as the greatest ODI side but as far as im concerened that was the most exciting ODI side. A real flair team.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Went to this game, the residing memory is Moin khan slog sweeping Glenn Mcgrath for a huge six! one of the best shots ive ever seen played live on a cricket ground.

Along with the two Aus v SA games, this was best game in that tourney in 1999.

 

[Kianig89]

Saw the match this defeat kick started Aussie reign @ WC's ......................:Akram got Gilly on 3rd ball ............:akhter uprooted S Waugh's stump

 

[Fahad_16]

Where is Rob Moody on this post ............. He probably got serious videos of this game

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

A memorable Sunday in Leeds for Pakistan.

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1264105599475867654

 

[sweep_shot]

It was a fantastic victory from Pakistan. One of the best games of that World Cup.

 

[Saj]

That was one strong Pakistan team.

So much talent, strength in depth and packed with match-winners.

 

[kamz]

That was one strong Pakistan team.

So much talent, strength in depth and packed with match-winners.

12th and 13th man were waqar younis and saleem malik in this game, imagine that. Such was the strength

Waqar was no mug with the ball in 99 and saleem malik even past his best, if one compares even at that time, he'd be a far better batsmen than razzaq.

Ridiculously strong and deep squad and most favourites to lift the cup. Talent, class all was present. All boxes ticked with match winners

Tear away fast bowler - Akhtar
Fearsome cunning - Wasim Akram
allrounders
Razzaq and mehmood (unknown quantity, but teams didnt have 1, pakistan was blessed with two at the time)
backable middle order of inzy, the axeman, youhana

world class opener in saeed anwar

even in spin - pakistan had saqlain at his absolute peak

The only area they were weak in was fielding and I remember one newspaper ran the story, that they might fly in imran nazir just for that hahaha

and they were playing in their favourite away hunting ground UK

and then you had saleem malik, wasti, afridi, and waqar younis

What a lost chance, it wasnt meant to be

 

[Nasty Naz]

That was one strong Pakistan team.

So much talent, strength in depth and packed with match-winners.

And this guy named Wajahatullah Wasti! He played in career 15 ODI matches and averaged 23.26 with a 48.94 SR. That would be slow even by Test standards.

Razzaq playing at 3 throughout the tournament is absolutely insane especially with how awful he batted in the entire WC. I have no idea why he was playing at 3 to begin with.

Did Yousuf getting insured during WC because I have no idea why he didn't play more games. Batting was so weak and fragile despite all the allrounders.

Whoever was the coach and in charge of lineup decisions was pretty awful because IMO, that's what cost them the WC.

 

[Saj]

Razzaq was being batted at 3 as some sort of insurance I guess to preserve the likes of Inzi, similar to what Imran Khan did in 1992.

It was a strange call as Razzaq was just blocking ball after ball and certainly was not good enough to bat at 3.

 

[MenInG]

Those were the days my friend - Cant imagine what it felt like to win in that way - not happened for a long time now.

 

[Zaz]

Razzaq was being batted at 3 as some sort of insurance I guess to preserve the likes of Inzi, similar to what Imran Khan did in 1992.

It was a strange call as Razzaq was just blocking ball after ball and certainly was not good enough to bat at 3.

Yes Inzy didnt fancy the seaming swinging conditions in may in england so razzaq was there to take the shine off the ball As you said tho he just didnt have the all round game to bat up the order more so at that time when his career was fairly newish He was pretty slow in that innings And pakistan were limping along for most of that innings at 3.5-4 runs an over

If it wasnt for inzy picking up his strike rate and yousufs and moins pyrotechnics at the end it wouldve been a loss for pakistan

 

[Rana]

One of the great World Cup victories.

I rate this and the win against England in 2019 as two of our best ODI wins ever!

 

[Saj]

A brilliant game of cricket that Pakistan should have won more comfortably.

Having said that, I'd rather we lost this one versus Australia and won the final.

 

[umerz]

Mushtaq Mohammad was the coach IIRC. One of the greats and best brains in Pakistan cricket

 

[Hitman]

Having spent so much time on PP over the years (since 2006), I believe that the loss in the finals against Australia in the 99' World Cup is the most painful defeat for maximum Pak fans. I have seen so many posters over the years expressing disappointment over that loss.

 

[gazza619]

Having spent so much time on PP over the years (since 2006), I believe that the loss in the finals against Australia in the 99' World Cup is the most painful defeat for maximum Pak fans. I have seen so many posters over the years expressing disappointment over that loss.

Due to the age group of most posters that was the choice, otherwise the obvious choice would have been the 96 QF against India. That was arguably the most hurtful day as we were the defending champions! Still remember being in tears.

 

[subshakerz]

That 99 team was overrated though. We lost to India, South Africa and Bangladesh on the way to the final and had an easy semi-final against NZ. Our batting lineup was collapse prone.

 

[liam26]

I still remember how Wasim Akram cleaned up the tail. Damien Martyn getting bowled while coming down the track. Pakistan looked massive favorite's for the tournament at that stage.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Australia had had a gruelling tour of the Caribbbean and their tactics were poor - Fleming and Reiffel opening the bowling instead of McGrath and Fleming - and Warne was struggling as well. Still remember how Junior Waugh and Ponting were aggressively chasing that total and then how, later, senior Waugh and Bevan looked like they were going to chase it.

Pakistan scored a ridiculous 110 runs in the last 10 overs or something. In 1999, in English conditions, that was unbelievable.

 

[BouncerGuy]

'99 Problems: Pakistan piles on pain for Aussies

The 25th anniversary of an ill-tempered but entertaining affair in Leeds where a clash between Steve Waugh and Shoaib Akhtar lit the fire for the Aussie skipper

Australia entered their third group stage match of the 1999 World Cup with one win and one loss, but the stumbling sum of their parts had some within the squad privately exploring holiday options in the south of France in the expectation they would exit early.

It was a feeling only heightened as their third match, against Pakistan in Leeds, saw the Aussies slip to a second loss and the brink of an embarrassing early elimination.

The team's brains trust of captain Steve Waugh and coach Geoff Marsh had intended to deploy specialist swing bowlers Damien Fleming and Adam Dale with the new ball, believing damp conditions would create opportunities for early wickets, with pace spearhead Glenn McGrath to then target the opposition's middle-order.

However, Dale managed a solitary scalp across the first two games and was jettisoned in favour of fellow seamer Paul Reiffel for the crucial third match against Pakistan in Leeds.

Dale did not figure in the remainder of the campaign, nor did the switch yield an immediate change in fortunes as Australia succumbed by 10 runs in the highest-scoring match of the tournament to that stage.

“A lot of people have written us off already, which is good because that can motivate players”

— Steve Waugh

It was an entertaining match, not least due to the idiosyncratic running of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Three times he and his batting partner ended up at the same end, twice resulting in a run out.

Inzamam and Abdul Razzaq both ended up at the striker's end, but Inzi was able to somehow lumber back to safety when a direct hit at the striker's end ricochetted out of the reach of Adam Gilchrist.

The pair survived and put on 188 for the fourth wicket before Razzaq became Shane Warne's sole victim of the match, and another 52 runs was plundered in 31 balls before Inzamam ran out the rampaging Mohammad Yousuf.

Inzamam had blasted 81 before Fleming landed a toe-crushing yorker that, after initially shaping to take a single that enticed his captain to run, had the Pakistani toppling to the ground in comically slow fashion. Self-preservation instincts kicked in as he tried to crawl to safety, but Wasim Akram had made his ground.

Moin Khan's 31 off 12 took Pakistan to 8-275 and Australia's response started poorly, with Gilchrist's lean run continuing with a duck.

Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting put on 91 for the second wicket but both fell quickly, along with Darren Lehmann, leaving Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan to pick up the pieces.

It was during this partnership a flashpoint occurred that sparked an immediate response from the captain, which proved pivotal over the ensuing month.

As Waugh tells it, he had completed a run and was turning at the bowler's end to contemplate stealing a second when Pakistan speed demon Shoaib Akhtar caught him with a "sly kick".

The pair had earlier exchanged words when Shoaib was introduced to the attack, and Waugh was fortunate to survive an LBW appeal when rapped on the pads by Shoaib's inswinger.

But Waugh claimed the kick caught him by surprise and awakened "the raw fighting spirit within me".

"As discreetly as I could, I walked with him (Shoaib) for a few steps before saying, 'Every dog has its day'," he revealed in his memoir, 'Out of My Comfort Zone'.

"He just puffed out his chest and kept walking."

Shoaib received an official reprimand for the incident, but Waugh declined to comment when asked about it post-game.

Years later, Shoaib finally shared his account, saying: "(Waugh) was out plumb lbw (but was given not out). I was so angry that I went and kicked his leg.

"He was running, and I dashed into him on purpose. I was very rude with him – he is a great player, but in the heat of the moment I said, 'You should be ashamed. You are out plumb'."

Given the teams' next meeting was in the Cup final at Lord's where Australia romped home and Shoaib returned unflattering figures of 0-37 from four overs, Waugh's warning proved even more prescient than his mythical 'you just dropped the World Cup' retort that was never uttered to Herschelle Gibbs.

Shoaib eventually got his man at Headingley, bowling Waugh with the high-pace inswinger for 49 in the 45th over that effectively was the game. Australia's 10-run defeat left them in a position as bleak as Yorkshire's weather.

After South Africa went undefeated through the preliminary rounds in 1996 but were then eliminated in their first playoff fixture, the ICC tweaked the structure for the 1999 tournament and introduced a Super Sixes component to try and deliver fairer outcomes.

It meant after the initial round-robin games for the two groups of seven teams, the top three from each group would progress to Super Sixes where they took on the other half of the draw.

The top four teams after that phase would progress to semi-finals but, to ensure results from earlier in the tournament were recognised, teams would also carry points they had earned against fellow Super Sixes competitors.

With Australia locked in a battle with New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies to reach the second stage, some creative thinking was now needed if they weren't to suffer an embarrassingly early exit.

With one win from their first three World Cup matches, Australia looked likely to join fellow Group B members Scotland and Bangladesh in failing to make the cut.

But Waugh remained defiant, pointing out his outfit – whose only victory had been a stuttering success against the Scots – simply needed to win seven games on the trot to become world champions.

"A lot of people have written us off already, which is good because that can motivate players," he told reporters in the gloom that followed the loss in Leeds.

A players' meeting was held in the Headingley dressing room immediately after the Pakistan loss amid rumblings of discontent within the group, with the skipper advising nobody was to leave until all simmering grievances were aired.

The meeting went for a couple of hours, with Ponting recalling "there was a lot of stuff talked about, a lot of personal stuff was talked about around the room".

"That was probably the turning point where the whole World Cup turned around."

There was another meeting as players moved from the dressing room to a pub in Leeds where Waugh convened with a few of his struggling quicks and a 'bowlers group' was formed.

Waugh tasked them to come up with plans for the different phases of a rival's batting innings, and particularly to quell scoring rates in the final 10 overs, after Pakistan had added 108 in that phase, and New Zealand had gone at a similar clip.

The more obvious shift was McGrath's reinstatement with the new ball for the next match against Cup rookies Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street, an encounter that can be seen in retrospect as transformational.

SOURCE: CRICKET.COM.AU

 

[Cricket Warrior]

and Australia took the revange of this game in the Finals