A revisit to Past tours to Australia.

You bowl out the opposition at home on 127 in the first innings of day 1 of a test match after getting a 170-run drubbing in the first test of the series. You then proceed to take a sizeable lead of 200 in your first innings due to an amazing opening partnership of 109 by your openers. Yet you end up losing the match by 36 runs. This is what exactly happened to the Pakistan Cricket team in 2009/10 during the new years test at the Sydney Cricket ground (SCG). Due to this appalling loss, we lost confidence and ended up losing the third test by 231 runs. A result that could’ve been 2-1 was now 3-0.

Let’s roll back the clock to 2004-05. We have Shoaib Akhtar steaming in at the WACA. There was little to no hope of Pakistan winning at the WACA because we had already lost the practice match played there although it was against a strong batting line up of Western Australia. We have Australia 71/5. Justin Langer has the Adam Gilchrist and the tail to work with yet he ends up scoring 191 and Australia ends up making 381. From that point onwards Pakistan was playing catch up and an abysmal Batting performance and a Brilliant Bowling Performance by Glenn McGrath in the second innings meant that Pakistan was bowled out for just 72. McGrath with figures of 8-24. The next match in this series was at the MCG. Pakistan made a respectable 341 in the first innings and had Australia 171-5 yet Australia ended up taking a 38-run lead and a poor batting performance yet again from Pakistan meant that Australia won by 9 wickets. Again a result that could’ve been 2-1 was now 3-0.

Let’s roll back further to 1999-2000. Australia is set to chase 370 in the match’s fourth innings courtesy of a fine century from Inzamam-ul-Haq. Australia is then 126-5 when Langer and Gilchrist combine to take them home with a further loss of one wicket with some luck from the on-field umpire. Again 2-1 became 3-0

The most recent example was from the 2016-17 series. Pakistan ends up making 450 while chasing 490 in the fourth innings of the Brisbane test. In the Boxing day test, Pakistan makes a total of 400+ in 3 days due to rain interruptions. Azhar Ali scored a wonderful 200*. Yet Pakistan ends up losing by an innings and a few runs, failing to block out two and a half sessions. A result that should’ve been 2-0 or 2-1 was now 3-0.

The last time we won a test match in Australia was in 1995. We haven’t been able to win one since and have never won a Test series in Australia. This should serve up as motivation for every team touring Australia including the current team.