Melbourne: Pat Cummins’ 32 not out off 31 balls enabled Australia to clinch a thrilling two-wicket win over Pakistan in the first ODI at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
Chasing 204, Australia were in a spot of bother after being reduced to 155/7 in 25.1 overs but Sean Abbott and Cummins stitched a crucial 30-run partnership before the former was run out on 13 in the 30th over. However, Mitchell Starc and Cummins made sure that Australia finished over the line in fashion in the 34th over. Starc remained unbeaten on two off 12 balls while Cummins’ innings included four fours.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and invited visitors to bat first. Pakistan had a troubled start with both openers Saim Ayub (1) and Abdullah Shafique (12) faltering cheaply against Starc in the powerplay overs. Babar Azam and captain Mohammad Rizwan added a 39-run stand to give some respite to the scoreboard. However, the partnership was broken by Adam Zampa in the 18th over with the wicket of Babar (37).
Kamran Ghulam (5) and Salman Agha (12) failed to impress in the middle order and added misery to Pakistan’s struggle. Rizwan too failed to continue his good start and missed out on his half-century. He was dismissed by Marnus Labuschagne in the 32nd over. Irfan Khan (22), Shaheen Shah Afridi (24) and Naseem Shah (40) added the much-important runs in the end to take the side 203 before being bundled out in 46.4 overs.
Naseem’s knock studded with four sixes and a four off 39 balls while Shaheen struck three fours and a six in his 24 runs innings.
For Australia, Starc returned with the best figures of 3-33 in his 10 overs while Zampa and Cummins snatched two scalps each.
Australia’s chase got off to a rocky start as the new opening pair of Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk fell early, both dismissed within the first four overs. Fraser-McGurk’s 16 runs were marked by a frantic pace, while Steve Smith remained composed, finding his rhythm and showing that his Test form was still intact as he tackled some impressive fast bowling on a quick pitch.
Things could have turned worse for Australia when Josh Inglis was dropped by Irfan Khan at gully, with Naseem delivering a delivery that reared up, catching the edge. Irfan, however, couldn’t hold on to the chance, diving high to his right. That miss seemed crucial as Inglis then settled in, showcasing his dominance. The Pakistani bowlers paid for their mistakes, conceding three sixes and two fours.
After an 85-run partnership, Smith made an unexpected error, cutting a delivery from Rauf straight to backward point and departing for 44. Pakistan’s strategy of bowling short to Inglis finally paid off when he pulled a delivery from Shaheen, only for Irfan to take a remarkable catch in the deep.
Rauf, a favourite from the Melbourne Stars, thrilled the Pakistan fans as Australia crumbled, losing three wickets without scoring. Labuschagne was caught at deep third, undone by a delivery that generated extra bounce, while Maxwell edged the next ball to Rizwan, leaving Australia at 139 for 6.
Aaron Hardie and Sean Abbott provided a brief reprieve, but Hardie soon fell while trying to cut a ball from Mohammad Hasnain that struck the top of the middle. This brought the skipper in for another rescue mission. Facing a barrage of short balls, Pat Cummins continued to score and survive, but Abbott was run out while trying to take a third run on a push from Cummins. Yet, the skipper remained until the end and scored the winnings for Australia to break the hearts of Pakistani fans.
Brief scores: Australia 204 for 8 (Josh Inglis 49, Steve Smith 44, Pat Cummins 32 not out; Haris Rauf 3-67) beat Pakistan 203 (Rizwan 44, Naseem 40; Mitchell Starc 3-33, Pat Cummins 2-39, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-43) by two wickets. IANS
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