Pakistan knew they needed to be near perfect to beat Australia, an opponent they had failed to overcome on 16 prior occasions, and for around 22 overs, they were.

There were diving catches, lightning quick stumpings, and your proverbial livewire acts of fielding. The conditions, too, were tailor-made; there were a few raised eyebrows when Pakistan opted to bowl first, but with the caliber of spinners they had in their ranks, they were confident of challenging Australia's batters.

That confidence was vindicated swiftly, as a combination of skillful bowling, efficient catching and some uncharacteristic errors in batting from a large chunk of Australia's batting unit, saw the defending champions stumble to 76 for 7.

Pakistan had never beaten Australia, and now they were closer than ever. B

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