Australia vs Pakistan, first ODI: Captain Cummins leads hosts to nervy win
Cummins delivered a stellar all-around performance that led Australia to a two-wicket victory in Melbourne, giving them a 1-0 advantage in the three-match ODI series.
Australia's skipper, Pat Cummins, has led his team to a nail-biting two-wicket victory against Pakistan in the first one-day international (ODI) held in Melbourne, despite a momentary scare during their pursuit of runs.
Cummins contributed 32 important runs and claimed two wickets as Australia pursued a target of 204, overcoming a late challenge from Pakistan. This victory gave Australia a 1-0 advantage in the three-match series on Monday.
Pakistan was bowled out for 203 runs in 46.4 overs after choosing to bat first. Their batsmen struggled against the Australian fast bowlers on a pitch that offered both speed and bounce at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Australia, the champions of the ODI World Cup held in India in 2023, were smoothly approaching their target with Steve Smith and Josh Inglis at the batting crease, having scored 113 runs for the loss of 2 wickets after 16.2 overs.
Nonetheless, the visiting team momentarily challenged the world champions when their quick bowlers came together to claim five wickets for just 45 runs, creating a shift in the game's momentum.
Despite wickets tumbling around him, Cummins maintained his composure and scored four boundaries while finishing the chase alongside fellow fast bowler Mitchell Starc.
The captain, making his return to ODI cricket since the World Cup final, enhanced his reputation for leading Australia to triumph in difficult situations. He had previously secured victory by scoring the final runs in the Ashes Test at Edgbaston last year and showed great resilience with the bat on two occasions during the World Cup.
"We wrapped it up tonight. I generally prefer being in the locker room, but it was an amazing game," Cummins commented afterward.
“It ended up being a little closer than we had hoped for.”
The stadium was only about a quarter filled with an audience of 25,800, but Rauf had the Pakistan supporters leaping from their seats during a fiery performance where he took out Marnus Labuschagne (16) and Glenn Maxwell (0) in back-to-back balls.
Fast bowler Starc was awarded the man of the match title after taking three wickets, which included both of Pakistan's opening batsmen.
In Pakistan's initial ODI following their absence from the World Cup semifinals, the team's leading batsman, Babar Azam, made his comeback to the squad after surprisingly being left out of the second and third Tests against England.
The ex-captain scored 37 runs from 44 balls before being bowled out by leg-spinner Adam Zampa after attempting an unnecessary shot against a straight ball.
Saim Ayub played his first One Day International (ODI) match while Mohammad Rizwan led the Pakistan team. Ayub teamed up again with Abdullah Shafique to open the batting, even though their previous performance together in Tests had not been very successful.
Starc easily took both their wickets; Ayub fell first, hitting the ball onto his own stumps, while Shafique was caught behind for a score of 12.
Rizwan was the highest scorer for Pakistan, contributing 44 runs, while Irfan Khan, who was making his ODI debut, scored 22 runs while batting in the seventh position before getting run out.
However, it required a determined effort from Naseem Shah, who scored 40 runs, along with Afridi, who contributed 24, to help Pakistan exceed the 200-run mark.
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