Pakistan finally registered a win in Tests against Australia after 15 years when they won the second Test at Leeds in 2010.
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When one looked at Pakistan vs Australia rivalry, for the first 40 years, it was intense. Australia had a slight edge by winning 14 Tests. Pakistan, on the other hand, had 11 wins. Australia had won a series in Pakistan in 1959 but they struggled to win after that. Pakistan secured only a couple of wins in Australia, with their most famous one coming in 1977 in Sydney thanks to Imran Khan’s 12-wicket haul. In the 1995 series, Australia won in Brisbane and Hobart. But, Pakistan bounced back with a win in Sydney by 74 runs.
Pakistan did not know it at that time. But, it would be their last win in Tests against Australia for close to two decades. What followed was a nightmare of epic proportions. Australia broke their 39-year drought when they managed to win a series in 1998 thanks to the exploits of Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor. With the loss at home, Pakistan’s confidence against Australia spiraled downwards.
In 1999, Pakistan was whitewashed 3-0 in Australia in what would be an epic losing streak Down Under. Pakistan reached its lowest ebb in the 2002 series played in Sri Lanka and the UAE. They lost the first Test by 41 runs but in the second Test in Sharjah, Pakistan was bowled out for 59 and 53. Australia registered an innings and 198-run win. So thorough was the dominance that they lost by an innings and seven runs to Matthew Hayden’s score of 119 alone.
Pakistan lost the third Test in Sharjah and was whitewashed. When the side toured Australia again in 2004, they were whitewashed 3-0. The nightmare reached a crescendo in 2010. Pakistan was tour washed 9-0 in all formats, with Mohammad Yousuf’s team squandering a 200-run lead in the Sydney Test to lose by 36 runs. This was after bowling Australia out for 127 in the first innings.
Things reached a breaking point for them in the aftermath of the tour to Australia. They lost the ICC World T20 in the most dramatic circumstance to Australia, with Michael Hussey’s 60 off 24 balls eliminating Pakistan in the semi-final. In 2010, the two-Test series was played in the United Kingdom. Australia secured a big win in Lord’s and Shahid Afridi, the-then captain announced his retirement from Tests. Heading into Leeds, Australia was favorites to make it 14 consecutive Test wins.
Pakistan had reached rock bottom. Many felt that they could never beat Australia. Prior to the Tests, they had won the two-match T20Is 2-0 which was brushed off as a one-off. The team was in turmoil. However, there is a saying. When the team is totally down, the only way is up. A new captain was appointed. Salman Butt replaced Afridi and Pakistan looked to give a challenge to the Aussies.
On a green pitch and overcast skies in Leeds, Australia chose to bat. But, their decision immediately backfired. Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif swung the ball and decimated the Australian batting. Asif and Amir took three wickets each as Australia were bowled out for 88. Once again, Ricky Ponting had made a blunder in assessing the conditions. The 2005 misjudgment in Edgbaston, the 2009 team composition at The Oval had seen Ponting lose the Ashes. Leeds 2010 was going to result in more pain.
Pakistan put up a better show with the bat, posting 258 although no batsmen hit a fifty. Shane Watson finished with 6/33 but the lead of 170 was very daunting. Facing an uphill task, Australia put up a fight. Ponting and Michael Clarke hit fifties but Amir was in his elements, taking 4/86. There was a superb knock of 77 from Steve Smith, a sign of things to come. Australia was bowled out 349, giving Pakistan a target of 180.
Imran Farhat made a robust 67 and put Pakistan on course. But, 15 years of pain had made a big psychological dent. The media and analysts still said that Pakistan’s winning percentage was 50. Farhat’s knock had helped Pakistan reach 137/1 but there was a mini-collapse. Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus took three wickets apiece as Pakistan were 161/6, still 19 runs behind.
Kamran Akmal hit a couple of boundaries to ease the pressure. But, when he fell, the nerves started to jangle. But, Amir, who was the star with the ball, hit the winning runs and the nightmare ended. Pakistan had ended 15 years of pain and snapped their 13-match losing streak.
However, Pakistan’s inconsistency against Australia would continue. They would be whitewashed 3-0 in 2016 and 2-0 in 2019 as their losing streak in Australia extended to 14 Tests, the most for any nation. Pakistan, on the other hand, secured a series win at ‘home’ for the first time in 20 years in 2014. They thrashed Australia in both Tests in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with Misbah-ul-Haq equaling the fastest century in Tests.
The 2-0 whitewash exposed Australia’s weakness to spin in Asian conditions. Four years later, Pakistan would secure a 1-0 win in the UAE. In the last seven years, Pakistan won more Tests against Australia than they had in the last two decades. The turnaround all began in Leeds.
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