Australia beat Pakistan in Tri-series final
Pakistan Times Sports Desk

SYDNEY (Australia): Australia clinched the Tri-series limited overs cricket title 2-0 after beating Pakistan by 31 runs in the second final at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Pakistan had limited the home side to 239 for 9 on a good batting wicket but once again their top order proved brittle and they could only muster 208 off 45.4 overs reply.

Australian paceman Glenn McGrath ripped the soul out of the Pakistan batting with figures of 5-27 off 7.4 overs to be named Man of the Match.

Yousuf Youhana top-scored for Pakistan with 51 while Abdul Razzaq also offered resistance with 43 but their contributions weren't enough after the team had crashed to 97 for 6 just after the 25th over.

For Australia, opener Adam Gilchrist set up the innings with a quickfire 40 off 30 balls while Damien Martyn top-scored with 43.

The win meant Australia took the best-of-three finals series 2-0 after defeating Pakistan by 18 runs in the first final in Melbourne on Friday.

Australian pace bowler Brett Lee was named the Player of the Series.

Match scores: Australia 239 for 9 (50 overs) and Pakistan 208 (45.4 overs).●