 Ponting admitted it had been a testing few days for the side |
Australia captain Ricky Ponting says his side's 36-run win over Pakistan in the second Test at Sydney is one of the most satisfying of his career. Trailing by 206 runs after the first innings, Michael Hussey and Peter Siddle's stand of 123 helped Australia set Pakistan a target of 176 to win. But Nathan Hauritz's 5-53 saw the home side pull off a stunning victory. "I don't think anyone else in the world other than the blokes inside our room thought we could win," said Ponting. The win meant Australia kept their unbeaten record against Pakistan going back to 1995, and also took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three series. "Turning up 80 runs ahead, I think all of us felt if we could get 150 we'd be right in the game," added Ponting. "Where it ended up today was a sort of a difficult number for Pakistan to look at and try to chase.  | 606: DEBATE |
"Those sort of totals are always hard to chase but what Huss and Sids did and what the bowlers did and probably more importantly today what the fielders did... those little things like that can be the difference between winning and losing the game." Ponting had come in for some criticism for choosing to bat first, and admitted it had been a demanding few days. "We felt that we probably underperformed a little bit on the first day and as a captain and a top-order batter the last thing I want to do is bat on a wicket that I don't think we can make any runs on," he said. "So I backed us at the start of the game to make more in the first innings of the game than what I thought Pakistan could make in the last innings of the game. "As it turns out we got 120-odd and then bowled them out for 139 in the last innings of the game. It just goes to show I guess how hard chasing runs in Test cricket is." Hussey's unbeaten 134 was the mainstay of Australia's second innings, but he was quick to pay tribute to Siddle for his contribution. "You've got to give a lot of credit to Peter for his courage and application - without him we'd have had no chance," he said. "He works pretty hard on his batting, I have a lot of faith in him, he looked really solid, he was really determined and showed a lot of character to bat for that time." Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf said his side's lack of Test experience was a major factor in their defeat, but also said his dismissal - caught and bowled by Hauritz for 19 just before tea - had been a turning point. "I think they batted very well in the second innings and my shot this afternoon was very pathetic and it turned the game," he said, "I think otherwise we win the game, not easily but we (would) have won."
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