OTD| Wasim Akram’s hat-trick guided Pakistan to a win in Austral-Asia Cup final in 1990

In this article, we will discuss the On This Day | Wasim Akram’s hat trick guided Pakistan to a win in the Austral-Asia Cup final in 1990. Wasim Akram is one of the greatest fast bowlers in the cricket history. Revered as ‘The Sultan of Swing’, the former Pakistan captain has taken the team to greater heights and achieved numerous milestones in his illustrious career. The record holder of being the first bowler to take 500 wickets in ODIs and has two hat-tricks in this format, one of which came in the Austral-Asia Cup final on May 4, 1990. 

Akram bagged his first ODI hat-trick in 1989 against Australia in the Champions Trophy at Sharjah. Six months later at the same venue, he stunned the same opponent with his second three consecutive scalps, helping Pakistan become champions in the Austral-Asia Cup. The left-arm seamer didn’t have a memorable outing until the series finale. His heroics in the final saw him take six wickets in three innings at an impressive average of 14.83. 

Akram’s swing magic crushes Oz’s tail end

Australia, led by Allan Border, were doing exceptionally well at the time and were favourites to win the series as well. Imran Khan’s Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. Saleem Malik’s 87 off 104, opener Saeed Anwar’s gritty 40 and surprise contribution from Akram (49* off 35) helped them reach 266/7 in 50 overs. 

Chasing a competitive total, Australia got off to a good start. Half-centuries from Mark Taylor (52) and Steve Waugh (64) and Simon O’Donnell’s 33 off 28 balls brought them close to victory as the scoreboard read 207/7 with a few overs to go. Here comes the swing magic from Akram who dismissed took a hat-trick to bundle out the opposition for 230 runs. 

Akram was wicketless in his first eight overs and conceded over 40 runs. However, the three successive wickets of Merv Hughes, Carl Rackemann and Terry Alderman in the ninth over earned him the Player of the Match award. Not to forget, he also played a crucial role with the bat in the first innings.