BBC SPORT | Cricket | Australia grab victory

First Test, Colombo, day five: Australia 467 & 127 beat Pakistan 279 & 274 by 41 runs

Needing just 137 for victory on the final day of the opening Test, Pakistan tumbled to a 41-run defeat after Australia took seven wickets.

Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie picked up two wickets each during the morning session as Pakistan's confidence ebbed away.

And it was McGrath who wrapped things up after lunch when he dismissed Faisal Iqbal for 39, with Ricky Ponting taking the catch at extra cover.

Starting the day on 179 for three, Pakistan had two early slices of luck when both Younis Khan and Faisal Iqbal were dropped by Mark Waugh in the slips.

But they had added only nine to their total when Misbah-ul-Haq was caught off Warne for 10.

Pictures from the final day

The crucial blow came when Younis, having batted for more than three hours to reach 51, was adjudged lbw to Warne, the leg-spinner's 11th victim of the game.

Younis' departure sparked a collapse which saw four more wickets go down for only 29 runs as Australia's seamers made good use of the second new ball.

McGrath made good use of the second new ball
Glenn McGrath polished off the tail
Rashid Latif was caught behind off Gillespie for 11 and McGrath accounted for Saqlain Mushtaq in the next over, thanks to Steve Waugh's second catch of the morning.

Pakistan captain Waqar Younis lasted only two deliveries as Gillespie found the edge of his bat and Adam Gilchrist made no mistake behind the stumps.

And Shoaib Akhtar, who had brought Pakistan back into the game with a five-wicket burst on the third day, was lbw to McGrath for six with the final ball before lunch.

And, despite a 15-run last-wicket stand between Faisal Iqbal and Mohammed Sami, there was little Pakistan could do to avoid the knockout blow.

The three-Test series now moves to Sharjah, where the second match begins on Friday and a third follows a week later.

Australia: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath.

Pakistan: Waqar Younis (capt), Taufiq Umar, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Abdul Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mohammmad Sami.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (WI), Srinivas Venkataraghvan (Ind)

Match referee: Clive Lloyd (WI).


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