[Watch] Haris Rauf Lights Up MCG As Labuschagne Finds His Express Pace Too Hot To Handle

Haris Rauf's wicket of Marnus Labuschagne (Source: Hotstar/X)

For those who are not aware, Haris Rauf used to play for Melbourne Stars for a long time in the Big Bash League (BBL), and Melbourne Cricket Ground was nothing but his home ground. Hence, it was not a surprise that his performance was extraordinary on Monday when Pakistan were up against Australia at the same venue in the first of the three-match ODI series.

Coming to bowl the first ball of the 21st over, Haris Rauf bowled a short delivery outside the off stump to Marnus Labuschagne, who was batting on 16* off 12 balls. The Australian middle-order batter tried to defend, only to see the ball was too pacy for him.

Eventually, the extreme pace and unanticipated bounce led him to get a leading edge, and Irfan Khan made no mistake while taking a simple catch in the third-man region. No wonder Rauf was pumped after the wicket, and the MCG crowd equally enjoyed seeing him produce a venomous delivery.

AUS vs PAK 1st ODI: Pakistan Need Wickets To Carry Momentum

Earlier, riding on Naseem Shah's late blitz, Pakistan managed to post 203 batting first. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan got the start, but they failed to convert them into something extraordinary.

Pakistan, in reply, did not get much earlier. However, Rauf turned the tide in quick time, and at the time of writing this, Australia are 153/6 after 23.3 overs. If the Men in Green want to register a win in Mohammad Rizwan's full-time captaincy debut, they need to do something extraordinary with a potent pace attack.

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