Top 10 batting collapses

#2 Australia 7 wickets for 5 runs, vs. Pakistan, Melbourne 1979

Sarfraz Nawaz and his reverse swing caused the mighty Aussies to fall

Pakistan was in dire straits. They had been dismissed for 196 in the first innings, but had bounced back and bundled out Australia for 168, getting a slender lead of 28 runs. The Pakistani batsmen batted well in the second innings and put up 353 on the board, giving Australia a target of 382 to win. It was an improbable target.

But the Aussies were running riot in the second innings with a 177-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Allan Border and Kim Hughes. They were at 305-3 and only required 77 more runs to record a sensational victory. The Pakistani bowlers were weary and exhausted, and the captain Mushtaq Mohammed gave the ball to his premier fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz to induce some magic.

Ahmed ran up and bowled with the old ball, and he found reverse swing. It was a technique that was often whispered about, but nobody had actually seen it in action before. The Aussies found out the hard way. 33 deliveries later, Australia was all out for 310, from being 305-3. Sarfraz had bowled 4.1 overs (since each over had 8 balls) for 7 wickets, conceding just 1 run. Sarfraz had taken 9 wickets in the innings, and the lone man to escape him - Graham Yallop - had been run out. Australia had been introduced to reverse swing, and they wouldn’t forget it in a hurry.