Australia Beat Pakistan by 2 Wickets in a Thrilling 1st ODI at Melbourne

In a thrilling 1st ODI at Melbourne, Australia narrowly managed to overcome Pakistan by 2 wickets as Mitchell Starc was excellent with the ball taking 3-33 while captain Pat Cummins scored 32 runs to take Australia across the finish line.

Inglis slams a straight drive through extra cover for four! He is on a roll.

Pat Cummins’s match winning innings

As the terror of losing to Pakistan was set in place, Australia’s Pat Cummins played an outstanding innings to help his side make a comebacks as they managed to win the 1st ODI which took place a Melbourne. It was thought that after losing the toss against Pakistan, 203 would be too low of a score, however, Cummins decided to step up and scored 32 runs off 31 balls.

This new captain did not panic when he went on the crease and was rather useful in balancing his side after a shaky beginning. He got rid of the opening batsmen such as Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, and then along with Josh Inglis, they advanced towards the target.

But the Pakistan bowlers bounced back with an impressive show by Haris Rauf. The equipped left-armer devastated the middle and lower order and made quite the contest out of it. A couple of brain fades from Aaron Hardie and Sean Abbott maintained the run chase, but Cummins was solid enough to clinch a tense victory by two wickets.

Wasim Akram who played as a fast bowler for Pakistan has been quite impressed with Cummins’ innings. “How cool is @patcummins30 under pressure as a batter,” he said through Twitter.

Babar Azam’s turnaround

Babar Azam stepped onto the pitch with the winning mentality and didn’t take long to get into the groove. The shotgun strategy proved to be a catalyst for Pakistan. He was able to establish a steady rapport with Mohammad Rizwan until Adam Zampa came into the picture. It was all lost for Pakistan at this point when Azam was bowled out by Zampa.

The pace trio of Australia’s attack are once again in control, and Josh Inglis has taken over the chase. He is attempting to increase the scoring rate but loose extras are allowing Pakistan to come back into the game.

As the score stands at 163, the players are getting ready for the drink break. Some more runs are needed to make the thrilling chase successful for them.

Even though the bat has not been able to perform in recent matches, the people regard Babar Azam as one of the finest bats batsman of the country. His performance in the shorter formats is sufficient testimony. He has scored over 8000 runs in the format and has appeared in two World Cup semi finals.

Giving up the captaincy at the beginning of the ODI festivities against Ireland and New Zealand this year was a huge decision, a sacrifice of sorts which he seems to have done for the sake of the side. He believes in taking a team first approach which is important in promoting team work and vision for Pakistan cricket in the years ahead.

Shaheen Afridi Wicket

Shaheen Afridi had indeed come on and bowled a short pitch which skidded off the deck making it bat difficult for the batsmen to get enough purchase to their strokes. Smith defended it onto the back foot then looking to push the ball but somehow the ball was pulled inwards, bringing a late movement. After getting suck in he attempted to hit it, but the back pad was there to ensnare it.

Australia needed another quick wicket in order to exert pressure on Pakistan in the last session of the day. He is bowling from the boundary and Sean Abbott threw the ball down from just outside his crease to mid off and it struck the stumps. Afridi was out of his crease, quick single run-out.

The drinks break is made at a crucial time when Australia also looks to change the pace a little as they try to keep the scoreboard chest ball rolling. Now that he has made a good start, Josh Inglis will be salmon pulao looking to convert it into a decent sized score and smith should feel relatively comfortable having appointed himself as the anchor man.

Adam Zampa gets the over off well, keeping it on the shorter side and on middle and leg. Shaheen Afridi goes for a swing but misses and goes through to the keeper. First shot played well as was planned with the back foot initial setup position and this was something Zampa was waiting for him to do. He would then comfortably slap the Hard-Leg Drive for a beautiful post match press talk.

Australia experienced the long long wait for their fightback when their fast bowlers turned up for them. Starting from Starc, Mohammed Bassil Khan completely got rid of Saim Ayub, claiming him as the attacking seam bowler, as well as a brilliant delivery, nabs the swashbuckling Babar Azam. Then off spinner Nathan Lyon got Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood out of the Pakistan middle order.

Initially, it seemed that Pakistan could pick up from where they left off in the previous match and build up on their turnaround. However, that could not have been farther from the truth and Pakistan started losing wickets consistently. It only took an impressive effort from nasim shad to nearly surpass the 200 mark and Following tail enders, Irfan Khan and Naseem Shah’s late run spree, kept the Pakistani team in the contest.

This in turn indicates that Australia are likely to come back in this series as Avantageous. It though was not free from its own share of scandal. In the later stages of the match Australia A player has been given out as Caught off the last ball which hit onto the back leg after bouncing off the pitch. This was later clarified that the umpire did not understand a particular clause regarding a no ball. This sentiment could be reflecting the pesky desire to respect the rules and be sportmen about the sport of cricket. Such circumstances could have been avoided and probably the life of a player could have been saved had the umpires decided to revise the rules.