Close Pakistan 279 and 179 for 3 (Taufeeq Umar 88, Imran Nazir 40, Warne 2-58) need 137 runs to beat Australia 467 and 127
Scorecard

The rain that arrived as the players sipped their tea provided an early full-stop for the fourth day's play at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo. A moment of magic from Mark Waugh just before the interval had given Australia some hope even as Pakistan continued to march purposefully towards their target of 316. Taufeeq Umar had batted with admirable poise and concentration to get to 88, but a flayed drive off Brett Lee was superbly taken on the leap by Waugh at second slip. It ended a partnership of 56 with Younis Khan that had threatened to push Australia out of contention. Both batsmen were assured against Shane Warne, with Younis in particular playing some gorgeous strokes through the offside. Glenn McGrath proved to be stingy and almost unhittable, but runs weren't too hard to come by from the other end. Pakistan made a very cagey start in pursuit of a historic victory. Imran Nazir was given a life early on when Mark Waugh dropped one high to his left at second slip but as the morning wore on and the nerves calmed, he started playing his shots, especially against Warne. Nazir had another slice of luck when Adam Gilchrist completely missed a stumping chance after he gave Warne the charge. Minutes later, there was a heated altercation with Gilchrist after Nazir took a wild swing at Warne's shy at the stumps. Umar was far more secure, though he started sedately. He played some wonderful drives through cover and straight down the ground once Brett Lee came on. There were a couple of fortuitous edges down to fine leg too, but he visibly gained in confidence once McGrath finished his first spell. Both batsmen showed a refreshingly positive approach to tackling Warne, with Umar spanking him for three fours in an over - two straight down the ground and one swept through square leg. He got to his fifty in far from classical style, inside-edging McGrath to the fine leg boundary, but it was a priceless innings for a team that has struggled for so long to get good starts. Though Gillespie and McGrath bowled a couple of fiery overs apiece. Lee was well below his best, conceding almost six runs an over. It was smelling of roses for Pakistan until Nazir was undone by the classic one-two. Lee softened him up with a brute of a delivery that reared and crashed into the back of his helmet, sending him down for the eight-count. He got to his feet groggily, but moments later, a wild heave at Warne was comfortably caught by McGrath at mid-off. He made 40 and his exit brought Abdul Razzaq to the crease. He was absolutely clueless against Warne, ekeing out 4 runs from 52 balls, before being given out leg before minutes after lunch. Umpire Steve Bucknor wasn't fooled by the bat tucked behind the front pad and after a vociferous appeal from Warne, his finger went up. But Younis and Umar ensured there would be no slide and only Umar's dismissal - and the rain - took the sheen off what was an excellent day's work from Pakistan.

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