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by Kuldip Lal

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, Oct 21 (AFP) Pakistan faced their second successive innings defeat against Australia after the fragile batting collapsed once more in the final Test here on Monday.

Pakistan, following on 223 runs behind after being shot out for 221 in their first innings earlier in the day, were reduced to 176-8 by stumps on the third day.

With Pakistan still 47 runs away from averting the innings defeat, Australia will return on Tuesday to claim the remaining two wickets and sweep the series 3-0.

In what has turned out to be a one-sided series against the injury-hit Pakistanis, Australia won the first Test by 41 runs and the second inside two days by an innings and 198 runs.

Leg-spinner Shane Warne grabbed five wickets in the first innings and three so far in the second to take his tally in the series to a staggering 27 wickets.

Fast bowler Glenn McGrath swept past the 400-wicket mark by picking up seven victims in the match, five on the third day itself which saw 12 Pakistani wickets fall on the easy-paced wicket.

Hasan Raza was the only top-order batsman willing to defy the Australians, making 54 not out in the first innings and an unbeaten 56 in the second.

Raza, the world's youngest Test player when he made his debut in 1996 at the age of 14, showed maturity beyond his three-Test experience in handling McGrath and Warne with elan.

Pakistan were in danger of losing the match on the third day itself when they slipped to 102-7 soon after tea.

But Raza saw out the day in the company of tailender Mohammad Sami, who made 12 not out after captain Waqar Younis hit a defiant 24.

McGrath, playing his 87th Test, is only the second Australian after Warne and the eighth in the history of the game to join the elite 400-wicket club.

West Indian Courtney Walsh leads the coveted pack with 519 wickets, followed by Warne (477), Kapil Dev of India (434), Richard Hadlee of New Zealand (431), Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (430), Wasim Akram of Pakistan (414), Curtly Ambrose of the West Indies (405) and McGrath (403).

In the morning, Raza and Saqlain took the overnight score of 163-6 to 191 when McGrath came on as first change 45 minutes after the start to wreck Pakistan's first innings.

The lanky paceman struck with his second delivery when he uprooted Saqlain's off-stump as the batsman attempted a wild heave.

Saqlain, who has a Test hundred to his credit, hit seven boundaries and a six in his 44.

McGrath then trapped Waqar leg-before to achieve the 400-wicket milestone.

Warne claimed Sami leg-before and had last man Danish Kaneria stumped to terminate the first innings with his 23rd five-wicket haul in Tests.

When Pakistan batted a second time after lunch, McGrath removed Taufiq Umar and Younis Khan to make it 12-2.

Nathan Hauritz, substituting for the injured Justin Langer, then produced a brilliant piece of fielding to get rid of Faisal Iqbal for two.

As Iqbal on-drove McGrath, Hauritz ran from cover to the mid-on region and broke the stumps with a direct throw before Iqbal could complete a third run.

Langer, fielding at short-leg, was hit on the back of the neck in the morning session when Raza pulled a short ball from Warne.

Langer was taken to hospital where precautionary x-rays, however, did not reveal any serious damage.

Pakistan slipped to 30-4 before Warne had Misbah-ul Haq and Rashid Latif leg-before to make it 86-6. 

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