Australia Vs Pakistan Final

Unbeaten into the final

Pakistan arrived at the 1999 World Cup final unbeaten through the Super Six stage, having already beaten Australia in the group phase, and were widely expected to win a tournament played across England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Netherlands. Australia, by contrast, had needed a tied semi-final against South Africa, decided on net run rate after Allan Donald was run out off the last ball at Edgbaston, simply to reach Lord's at all, a match still remembered as one of the greatest one-day internationals ever played. Wasim Akram won the toss for Pakistan and chose to bat first, backing a strong batting order that had scored freely all tournament against an Australian attack that had bowled with increasing control through the later stages of the competition, and a Lord's crowd heavily weighted with Pakistan supporters settled in expecting to see their side lift the trophy by the evening.

Warne returns

Shane Warne had struggled with form and fitness through parts of the tournament and through the year before it, but the final brought out his best bowling of the whole competition. He took 4 for 33 from his nine overs, bowling Ijaz Ahmed, having Moin Khan and Wasim Akram caught, and trapping Shahid Afridi lbw, turning the ball sharply and troubling Pakistan's middle order with both his leg breaks and his wrong 'un. He was named man of the match for the performance, a return to form that came at exactly the moment his side needed it most. Glenn McGrath supported him with 2 for 13 from nine overs that included three maidens, removing Wajahatullah Wasti early and Saqlain Mushtaq late, and the pressure the two senior bowlers created between them never let up through the whole of Pakistan's innings.

Pakistan collapse

Pakistan never recovered from a poor start. Wajahatullah Wasti was caught off Glenn McGrath for just 1, and Saeed Anwar, who had opened so well through the tournament, was bowled by Damien Fleming for 15, both inside the first six overs. Abdul Razzaq and Ijaz Ahmed put together the innings' only real stand, 47 for the third wicket, before Razzaq was caught off Tom Moody and Ahmed, who made 22, was bowled by Warne. Moin Khan was caught off Warne for 6, Inzamam-ul-Haq made 15 before he too was caught, off Paul Reiffel, and Shahid Afridi was lbw to Warne for 13. Azhar Mahmood and Wasim Akram both fell cheaply as the innings collapsed through its second half, and no Pakistan batter passed 22 all day. It was a total that bore almost no resemblance to the batting Pakistan had shown across the rest of the tournament.

McGrath and Moody close it out

Tom Moody, playing as Australia's fifth bowling option, took 2 for 17 from five overs, dismissing both Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood, and Paul Reiffel picked up the wicket of Inzamam-ul-Haq as well, mopping up a Pakistan innings that had lost its way early and never found a partnership to rebuild around. Pakistan were bowled out for just 132, their last pair adding only 3 more before Saqlain Mushtaq was caught off Glenn McGrath, McGrath's second wicket of the innings to go with his tidy 2 for 13, with 25 extras included in that total, one of the lowest totals ever posted in a men's World Cup final.

Gilchrist's fifty

Chasing a modest 133 to win, Australia never looked troubled for a single over. Adam Gilchrist, in only his first year as an international opener, put on 75 for the first wicket with Mark Waugh inside just over ten overs, making 54 from 36 balls before he was caught off Saqlain Mushtaq, striking the ball with the clean power that would define his career. Ricky Ponting added 37 with Waugh for the second wicket before he was caught off Wasim Akram for 24, and Waugh finished the match unbeaten on 37, with Darren Lehmann unbeaten on 13 alongside him at the end. The target was never in doubt from the moment Gilchrist began attacking in the powerplay overs, and the required rate, already low against a total of 132, never once threatened Australia's composure.

The shortest final

Australia reached 133 for 2 in just 20.1 overs, winning by eight wickets with 179 balls still unused, one of the most one-sided finishes the tournament's history had produced. The match itself had been over inside three hours from the first ball, a stark contrast to the drama Pakistan had shown through the rest of the tournament and to the tied semi-final, decided by the narrowest possible margin, that had put Australia into the final in the first place.

Australia's first of three

It was Australia's second World Cup title, after 1987, and the beginning of a run that would bring them three consecutive titles through 1999, 2003 and 2007, all won under Steve Waugh and then Ricky Ponting's captaincy, a run of dominance in the one-day game that has never been matched. For Pakistan it was a final that never got going, a rare quiet day from a side that had played some of the most thrilling cricket of the whole tournament to reach Lord's, including the win over Australia in the group stage and a run through the Super Six matches without defeat. It remains, for Pakistan supporters, the one match of an otherwise outstanding campaign that never needs replaying, a single off day at the very moment the trophy was within reach. The full scorecard, over by over, is on this page, and both sides' wider World Cup histories are on the Australia and Pakistan team pages. In The Chase you can take either attack into a final of your own and see if you can defend a total this small, or chase one down as quickly as Gilchrist did.

Sources

• CricArcade World Cup archive: the full scorecard, fall of wickets and bowling figures on this page
• ESPNcricinfo: ICC World Cup 1999, final scorecard and report
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2000: the 1999 World Cup