Australia cricket team secured a nail-biting xx wicket victory against Pakistan in AUS vs PAK 1st ODI in Melbourne. Pat Cummins and co. held their nerves to complete the run-chase of 204 as they took a 1-0 lead in the series. This match was Pakistan’s first ODI since the World Cup in 2023 and was also Mohammad Rizwan’s first assignment as the white-ball captain. Pakistan would be pretty pleased with their performance despite losing the game. From batters to bowlers, the Rizwan-led side saw contributions come in from all quarters of the team, a good news for the side who have a hectic white-ball schedule ahead.
Australia batters falter in AUS vs PAK 1st ODI
Both Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk flopped in the 1st ODI as Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi struck within the first three overs. Steve Smith (44) and Josh Inglis (49) steadied the ship for Australia following the loss of the openers. The dup made it look like the game was very well in Australia’s hands until Haris Rauf struck.
Two back to back wickets from Haris Rauf to get rid of Glenn Maxwell and Labuschagne got Pakistan back into the game. Aaron Hardie was cleaned up by Hasnain a short while later while skipper Pat Cummins was run-out when Australia were less than 30 runs away from the target. Pakistan suffered a blow towards the end of the game as Naseem Shah was forced to stop bowling mid-way of an over and had to walk off the field.
Pakistan’s top-order woes contnue
Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique (12) and Saim Ayub (1) failed to fire in PAK vs AUS 1st ODI. Mitchell Starc struck twice within the first six overs to leave Pakistan two down in the powerplay. Babar Azam (37) managed to break free from the shackles of poor form and displayed variety of shots. His onslaught was brought to a grinding halt by Adam Zampa.
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Rizwan to the rescue
Mohammad Rizwan led from the front as the Pakistan captain with the bat. He top-scored for the side with a 44-run knock that helped Pakistan reach a respectable yet low total. He managed to hold the fort as Salman Ali Agha and Kamran Ghulam walked in and out of the field while he watched on from the other end. The Pakistan skipper became Marnus Labuchagne’s only victim in the match.
Naseem Shah goes all guns blazing
Just when Australia thought they had silenced Pakistan, Naseem Shah went out all guns blazing against the Aussie bowlers. He smashed four maximums and one four en route to his 40-run knock. Useful contributions from Irfan Khan (22) and Shaheen Afridi (27) saw Pakistan go past 200 and finish their innings at 203 runs. Starc finished as Australia’s top wicket-taker in the match with 3 scalps while Pat Cummins & Adam Zampa picked two each.
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