May 6 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank Ltd reported a 95% surge in first-half cash profit on Thursday as a rapid economic recovery encouraged the country's third-biggest lender to reverse provisions set aside for likely bad debt due to the pandemic.

Cash profit came in at A$3.34 billion ($2.59 billion) for the half year compared with A$1.72 billion a year earlier, beating an estimate of A$3.05 billion according to a Reuters poll. ($1 = 1.2908 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)