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AUS vs PAK 1st ODI Highlights: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins Excel With Bat And Ball As Australia Go 1-0 Up

Aakash Saini

Australia won the first ODI against Pakistan [Source: @ICC/x]Australia won the first ODI against Pakistan [Source: @ICC/x]

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Australia came out on top over Pakistan in a thrilling finish at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 4. Australia’s two-wicket win at the venue also handed them an early lead in the three-match ODI series.

Here’s the timeline of how AUS vs PAK panned out in Melbourne:

AUS vs PAK Highlights: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins Ravage Pakistan Top-Order

Australian thunderbolt Mitchell Starc blazed past Pakistan openers Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique within just the first seven overs of the match to shatter the visitor’s top-order.

Senior spinner Adam Zampa knocked over a well-set Babar Azam (37 off 44) while Starc’s new ball pace mate and captain Pat Cummins bounced out Pakistan number five batter Kamran Ghulam for just 5.

Vice-captain Agha Salman also failed to steer the ‘Men in Green’ to recovery as his attempted pull off Sean Abbott landed straight towards Matthew Short at midwicket as Pakistan crashed to 101-5 from 27 overs.

AUS vs PAK Highlights: Captain Rizwan And Naseem Shah Push Pakistan Past 200

Amidst Pakistan’s top-order troubles, captain Mohammad Rizwan cautiously carved 44 runs from his end to top-score for his side. Following his surprise dismissal to part-time spinner Marnus Labuschagne, Pakistan lower-order kept the scoreboard ticking and ensured their side had over 200 runs to show for upfront.

Irfan Khan and Shaheen Afridi (24 off 19) added 31 runs together for the seventh wicket until the latter became the third of Mitchell Starc’s three wickets of the innings. Naseem Shah at number nine clobbered four sixes and a boundary in his 39-ball knock of 40 as Pakistan reached 203 in 46.4 overs.

For Australia, Starc picked up figures of 3-33 with three maidens while Pat Cummins (2-39) and Adam Zampa (2-64) claimed two wickets each.

AUS vs PAK Highlights: Steve Smith, Inglis List 40s In Australian Recovery

Pakistan new ball pacemen Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah removed Australian openers Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk respectively as the hosts slipped to 28-2 in four overs in a small chase of 204.

Middle-order stalwart Steve Smith (44 off 46) subsequently stabilized Australia’s faltering innings with an 85-run third-wicket defiance with wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis (49 off 42). Both cricketers punched out valiant 40s each to take Australia past the 100-run mark without further casualty.

AUS vs PAK Highlights: Pat Cummins And Tail Survive Rauf Scare As AUS Clinch Close Win

With Australia reaching 113-2 in 16.3 overs, Pakistan paceman Haris Rauf titled the tide back in his team’s favour with the key wickets of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne (16 off 13) and Glenn Maxwell (0 off 1) in quick succession.

Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain capitalized Pakistan’s newfound momentum with timely breakthroughs, as the two speedsters accounted for the departures of Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie respectively as Australia slipped to 155-7 in 25 overs.

Sean Abbott added a valiant 13 from his end during his expressive 30-run partnership with Pat Cummins for the eighth wicket. Following Abbott’s runout to Shaheen Afridi, captain Cummins (32* off 31) and pace mate Mitchell Starc (2*) made nervy rearguard runs to take Australia home in the 34th over with two wickets to spare.