Record ends,reign?

Skipper Ricky Pontings distress only seemed justified. And the gnawing continued under the lights,as the Pakistani batsmen overcame their nerves and a mini-collapse in the middle-order to post a crucial four-wicket victory and finish the league stage on top of Group A pushing Australia to third behind Sri Lanka in the process.

It was the first time since May 1999 that Australia had lost a World Cup match. At Leeds,11 years ago,it was Pakistan that had beaten Australia.

Earlier in the day,on what proved to be a sticky wicket,a majority of the Australian batsmen had fallen in the process of trying to force the issue against a disciplined Pakistani bowling attack.

Gul strike

Umar Gul had started off in his now customary fashion,hitting the seam and keeping the openers in check. The tall pacer didnt lose his rhythm even after going down dramatically with a knee-strain,breaking open the defences of the in-form Shane Watson.

Shahid Afridi opened the bowling with left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman,and faced with their first real challenge against quality-spin though Ray Price and Balaji Rao will take offense to that view the Australians wilted against the challenge. The extremely high humidity levels didnt help their cause either.

It looked like Brad Haddin was literally worn down by shackles,as he tried to break free from them,stepping down the wicket at every opportunity and angling his bat in as many directions as possible to get going.

But after battling against the likes of Rehman,Mohammad Hafeez and Afridi,and getting into an altercation with Younis Khan,it was an innocuous away-going delivery from Wahab Riaz with extra bounce that accounted for the Australian wicket-keeper,who top-scored with an 80-ball 42.

Ponting by then had already found a faint edge down the leg-side off Hafeezs bowling before Australias biggest concern,their still rough-at-the-edges middle-order,was exposed.

And though Michael Clarke and Steven Smith did show some resistance,Abdul Razzaqs double-strike had ensured that Australia would struggle to last their 50-over quota.

Australias pace-centric attack was never expected to have a lasting impact on the Pakistani batsmen on the slow-low wicket. But with their renowned fighting spirit on full display and Pakistans penchant to make achieving even a small total an arduous task,the eventual result of the match continued to remain in doubt despite a rapid start to their innings.

But while the likes of Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson did pose a few threats to the Pakistanis,it was only as a result of Brett Lees four-wicket burst that Australia even fancied a chance of winning.

The speedster first got rid of the openers before returning to land a double-blow,removing a well-set Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq off consecutive deliveries. But it wasnt enough to defend his teams paltry total of 176.

As the target drew closer though,the pair of Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq did manage to put some self-imposed pressure on themselves by continuing to go for big shots despite plenty of overs still remaining.

But with the Pakistanis handing him his first defeat as captain in a World Cup match,Ponting at the end of the day was left pondering a quick-fix solution to the many issues plaguing his teams chances of a fourth straight title.

Startling stats

Pakistan ended Australias 34-match unbeaten run in the World Cup,one that stretched since the 1999 edition,by winning the Group A match by four wickets at R Premadasa Stadium,Colombo,on Saturday. It was Ricky Pontings first loss as skipper in a World Cup game.

The last team to beat Australia in the World Cup was also Pakistan. They defeated Australia by 10 runs in a Group B match at Leeds on May 23,1999.

Australia had won 32,tied one and one game was abandoned in the 34 matches played before losing to Pakistan on Saturday. With this victory Pakistan also claimed the top spot in Group A with 10 points.

Australias 176 in 46.4 overs at the R Premadasa was their lowest total in a World Cup since the 1992 edition when they were bowled out for 172 in 45.2 overs by Pakistan at Perth.

The last time Australia were bowled out in a World Cup game before Saturday was when South Africa (who chose to field) bowled them out for 213 in 49.2 overs in the 1999 semifinal at Edgbaston. The match ended in a tie but Australia qualified for the final because they were higher-placed on the Super Six table.