Australia beat Pakistan by two wickets in thriller

MELBOURNE: Australia captain Pat Cummins held on to his nerves and steered his side to a thrilling two-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first ODI of the three-match series here at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Monday.

Cummins remained unbeaten on 32 as Australia chased the 204-run target in 33.3 overs at the loss of eight wickets.

Pakistan’s top order crumbled against the likes of Mitchell Starc’s brilliant spell as Australia bundle Pakistan for a meagre 203 in the first ODI of the three-match series here at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Monday.

Mitchell Starc gave Australia the desired start after they opted to field as he removed both openers inside seven overs with 24 runs on the board.

Babar Azam played a 37-run knock from 44 balls and added 39 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Rizwan before getting bowled by Adam Zampa.

Kamran Ghulam could add only runs with one boundary as he fell prey to Pat Cummins’ well-directed bouncer in the next over.

Meanwhile, Sean Abbott removed Salman Ali (12) to leave Pakistan struggling at 101-5.

Mohammad Rizwan scored 44 runs from 71 balls before he top-edged off Marnus Labuschagne while attempting to sweep, only to get caught by wicket-keeper Josh Inglis.

Irfan Khan (22) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (24) added valuable runs before Naseem Shah played a gusty cameo of 40, which featured four sixes and one four to help Pakistan cross the 200-run mark.

Pat Cummins ended Naseem’s cameo to bundle Pakistan for 203.

Starc led the bowling charts with figures of 3-33, while Cummins and Zampa claimed two wickets each.

Head to Head

The Greenshirts do not have a good track record at the Australian soil, winning only one ODI series.

Pakistan and Australia have contested in 104 ODIs and the Aussies have won overwhelming 70 matches.

After the first game on Monday, the two sides will face in the second game at Adelaide on November 8 while the third PAK v AUS game is scheduled for November 10 at Perth.

Muhammad Rizwan

Rizwan, who will lead Pakistan in his maiden match, has said yesterday that Babar Azam, Shaheen and Naseem Shah have performed for Pakistan.

“All 15 members of the team are captain. Fakhar Zaman and Imam ul Haq have also given several match winning performances,” Rizwan said.

He said, “Offering chance to young players, we are creating back-up for the team,” he added.

Pakistan

Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.

Australia

Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.