On this day in 1999: Australia lift their second World Cup trophy in one-sided final

June 20, 1999…this is the date on which the hearts of crores of Pakistani fans were broken. On this day the Pakistan cricket team had a chance to win the World Cup for the second time but their hopes were shattered by Australia at Lord’s.

The Pakistan team was stacked like a pack of cards in the final. Batting first, they could score only 132 runs, with the maximum contribution being extra runs (25). This was their last appearance in the final of an ODI World Cup.

At the Home of Cricket, Pakistan captain Wasim Akram won the toss and elected to bat first. But from the fifth over, the captain’s decision proved to be wrong. Opener Wajahatullah Wasti became a victim of McGrath by scoring just 1 run. In the very next over, Saeed Anwar also gave away his wicket to Tom Moody for 17 runs.

Warne sizzles with the ball

Ijaz Ahmed and Abdul Razzaq took the score beyond 60 but then Shane Warne dismissed Ahmed, Moeen Khan and Moody showed Razzaq the way to the pavilion. Soon, half of Pakistan were bundled out inside 91 runs. The process of falling wickets of Pakistan did not stop and Inzamam, Azhar Mahmood also got out cheaply. As a result, Pakistan were reduced to 132 runs in just 39 overs. Warne took 4 wickets for 33 runs in 9 overs. Moody and McGrath bagged 2 wickets each.

The pitch at Lord’s was looking difficult to bat on and it seemed that the Pakistani team, adorned with fast bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar would make life difficult for the Kangaroos. But Adam Gilchrist smashed the bowlers as soon as he came to the crease and scored 54 runs in just 36 balls with the help of 8 fours and a six. Mark Waugh contributed 37 and Ricky Ponting contributed 24 runs. Australia achieved the target in just 20.1 overs, winning the final by 8 wickets.