It is no secret that on their day Pakistan are world-beaters. And on Sunday, for quite a while, it seemed this was going to be Pakistan's day. Even the luck factor was on their side. Inzamam and Youhana tried to run each other out on numerous occasions but in vain. Shahid Afridi came in and swung his bat like he would never ever wield the willow again. On any other day, one of his strokes would have landed safely in the hands of an Australian fielder. When Pakistan fielded, Australia seemed to be cruising to victory at one stage. Then Razzaq got rid of the in-form Damien Martyn and the extremely dangerous Andrew Symonds with deliveries that were not great in any respect. But despite all this, an under-strength Australia, missing the services of star performers like Gilchrist and Gillespie, cruised to victory with two overs two spare.

Batting first, Pakistan did not have the greatest of starts. Makeshift opener Kamran Akmal found McGrath too hot to handle, while Mohammed Hafeez fell to the pace of Brett Lee very early in the innings. Things seemed to be heading towards yet another one-sided tussle. Salman Butt though hadn't given up hope. Pakistan's bright future prospect carried on his good work in the series, carving out a fighting half century, standing firm against the strong Aussie pace trio of McGrath, Lee and Kasprowicz. He got good support from Shoaib Malik, who is more in the news for his suspect bowling action these days. The duo went about rebuilding the Pakistani innings, but just when it seemed they were heading towards safety, both fell to put the visitors back in trouble. Butt contributed a determined 61 while Malik chipped in with 31.

It was now up to the experienced duo of Inzamam and Youhana to take the fight to the opposition camp. The Pakistan skipper came in for a lot of flak from back home for not having the fighting qualities of a leader. He chose this stage to prove a point or two to his detractors. Running hard between the wickets, something which is certainly not his forte, Inzamam went on to compile yet another half century in his long illustrious career. If ever he dearly needed a hundred to silence his critics, it was in this game. But his tendency to shuffle across the stumps got the better of him as Kasprowicz trapped him plumb in front of the wickets. With Youhana having departed sometime earlier, Pakistan were back in trouble.

However, the Hobart crowd were in for a Shahid Afridi special in the last ten overs. One of the most talented yet inconsistent batsman in world cricket, Afridi got his bearings right for a change. Even the likes of McGrath and Lee could not stop his onslaught. He slashed almost every bowler out of the park enroute to his superbly entertaining 26-ball 56. At one stage, it seemed as if Pakistan would struggle to get past 240. But Afridi's big lusty hitting saw them post a challenging 272 on the board.

With Gilchrist and Hayden not in the side, Pakistan were certainly in with a chance to make a match of it. Michael Clarke though had his own game plan. Seizing on the opportunity to open the innings in the absence of his other illustrious teammates, Clarke once again showed the cricketing world that here is a batsman destined for greatness. The young rising star cut, pull and drove the Pakistanis with utter disdain as his opening partner Simon Katich looked on. Katich and Clarke put together a century opening partnership before Azhar Mahmood, making a comeback to the Pakistani side after a long exile, had Katich chopping one on to the stumps. Afridi, buoyed by his batting efforts, then got rid of Ricky Ponting, having him caught behind off a faster one. Rain then had its say as play was suspended for a while.

When the players came back onto the field, the D/L method was in operation and Australia needed to score 253 from 45 overs to clinch the game. Things were pretty much evenly balanced. Clarke continued on his merry ways but Pakistan's kept striking at the other end just in the nick of time. It then took one bad over from Rana Naved-Ul-Hasan to seal Pakistan's fate. Brad Haddin, who replaced Adam Gilchrist behind the stumps, blasted three boundaries in one Rana over before falling for a crucial 30.

In the end, it was again a matter of so near yet so far for Pakistan. Time and again on this tour, Pakistan have shown signs of closing the gap between the two teams. But each time it happens, Australia set a new benchmark for the opposition to follow.