In the opening test played in Brisbane, centuries from Michael Slater and Mark Waugh guided Australia to a ten wicket victory. The following test, played at Hobart saw Pakistan with a century from Inzamam-ul-Haq and a six wicket haul in the first innings from Saqlain Mushtaq give Australia a target of 369 runs to chase down. In what was a record breaking run-chase, centuries from Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist aided Australia to a four wicket win and also taking the series with one game to spare. The final test which was played at Perth saw a 337-run partnership between Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer as they led Australia to 451 which would be enough as they won by an innings and twenty runs.
Australian batsman, Justin Langer top scored for the series with 331 runs which included two centuries as he finished ahead of Michael Slater and Pakistani batsman, Saeed Anwar. In the bowling, Damien Fleming was the leading wicket taker of the series with 18 wickets which included a five wicket inning in Brisbane. He was followed by fellow Australian bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
Abdul Razzaq (Pak), Adam Gilchrist and Scott Muller (Aus) made their Test debut. Gilchrist made a half century off 46 balls, the fastest by an Australian on debut.[1]
