AUSTRALIA remain firmly on course for a record equalling 12th successive Test victory against Pakistan after claiming four wickets, including the vital scalp of skipper Mohammad Yousuf, in the visitors’ second innings on day four of the third Test at Bellerive
Setting Pakistan an improbable 438 to win after declaring the second innings at 219 for five shortly after lunch, Australian opening bowlers Doug Bollinger and Peter Siddle wasted little time making early inroads as Australia looked to record a fourth successive 3-0 clean sweep of Pakistan in a Test series.
Pakistan finished the day on 103 for four after openers Salman Butt and Imran Farhat fell for just eight and 14 respectively while Yousuf lost out on a referral as he was adjudged lbw to Shane Watson for 23 and Umar Akmal was also lbw to Watson.
Australia face a race against time to bowl Pakistan out and clinch a fifth win in six Tests this summer with rain forecast for the final day on Monday.
It was Bollinger who struck the initial breakthrough when he bowled Butt for just eight with a delivery that kept slightly low and bowled the left-hander between his bat and pad in just the fifth over.
Then it was Siddle’s turn when he claimed Farhat for 14 just five overs later with a superb delivery that squared him up and caught the edge giving keeper Brad Haddin a sharp catch low down.
But Watson claimed the most important scalp when he trapped Yousuf plumb in front with the Pakistan skipper wasting one of his team’s two allowed unsuccessful referrals by challenging the decision – and followed it up with the wicket of Umar.
Earlier Australian skipper Ricky Ponting narrowly missed out on a slice of history as he and opener Simon Katich continued to humiliate the Pakistan attack.
After resuming at 59 for one with an overall lead of 277 Simon Katich made his first Test century of the summer while Ponting fell just short of becoming only the seventh man in Test history to score a double century and a century in the same match when he was dismissed for 89.
Ponting fell just after lunch after being given out on referral after he gloved a ball down leg side while trying to sweep off-spinner Shoaib Malik with the declaration coming soon after. (Cricinfo)
AUSTRALIA innings 519: (Ponting 209, M. Clarke 166)
Pakistan first innings 301; S. Butt 102, S. Malik 58
Australia second innings o/n 59 for one.
S. Watson c Yousuf b Aamer 1
S. Katich c Malik b Kaneria 100
R. Ponting c (wkpr) Sarfraz Ahmed b Malik 89
M. Hussey not out 13
B. Haddin run out Mohammad Aamer 8
M. Johnson c Farhat b Malik 0
Extras: (b4, lb4) 8
Total: (5 wickets dec; 48.4 overs 219
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-192, 3-202, 4-213, 5-219..
Bowling: Mohammad Asif 9-0-48-0, Mohammad Aamer 12-2-46-1, Umar Gul 10-0-45-0, D. Kaneria 14-2-56-1, S. Malik 3.4-0-16-2.
PAKISTAN second innings
I.Farhat c (wkpr) Haddin b Siddle 14
S. Butt b Bollinger 8
K. Manzoor not out 23
Mohammad Yousuf lbw b Watson 23
Umar Akmal lbw b Watson 15
S. Malik not out 18
Extras (b2) 2
Total (4 wickets; 34.2 overs) 103
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-29, 3-61, 4-83
Bowling: D. Bollinger 10-3-25-1, P. Siddle 6.2-2-17-1, M. Johnson 7-1-32-0, S. Watson 9-1-24-2, N. Hauritz 2-1-3-0.
