By : Adeel Khursheed
AUS vs PAK: Pat Cummins’ Australia survived a burst from the Pakistani pace attack and won the Melbourne ODI by two wickets on Monday, thereby taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Australia made a brilliant start to their campaign in the ODI series against Pakistan. On Monday, November 4, the hosts won by two wickets in a thriller at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Skipper Pat Cummins played a match-winning knock and helped the Aussies recover after Pakistan threatened to bounce back and clinch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Naseem, Rizwan shine for Pakistan
Returning to play ODIs after the World Cup last year on Indian soil, Pakistan were bowled out for 203 in 46.4 overs. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique fell cheaply, but Babar Azam and newly appointed skipper Mohammad Rizwan steadied the ship. Babar, who made his comeback after missing the last two Tests against England, scored 37 off 44 before Adam Zampa castled him.
Rizwan looked good in his 44-run knock before Marnus Labuschagne accounted for his wicket. Kamran Ghulam began his ODI debut with a boundary, but Pat Cummins got him out with a well-directed bouncer. Salman Agha, the newly appointed vice-captain in limited-overs cricket, got out to Sean Abbott. Irfan Khan Niazi was unlucky to be run out on debut after making 22 runs.
But it was Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, who both injected momentum into the innings. Shaheen smacked three fours and a six on his way to a quick-fire 24. Naseem helped Pakistan go past the 200-run with a useful knock of 40 runs off 39 balls.
Naseem hit Zampa for two sixes and a four in the 46th over. Pat Cummins, who finished with figures of 9.4-1-39-2, dismissed Naseem to bring the curtains down on the innings. Mitchell Starc was outstanding after he picked up three wickets for 33 runs.