- Australia almost missed victory against Pakistan
- Pat Cummins’ team lost three wickets in quick succession
- They will meet again in Adelaide on Friday night.
Ultra-aggressive Australia almost lost a certain victory but finally steadied themselves after a quick spell from Haris Rauf to beat Pakistan by two wickets in the first ODI at the MCG.
Chasing just 204, Australia collapsed to 6-139 in the 21st minute when Rauf skipped the middle order as the hosts were trying to finish the game as quickly as possible.
But captain Pat Cummins (32*), playing his first ODI since last year’s shock World Cup final triumph, was there again at the end in a tight chase as Australia came home with 99 balls to spare.
One of the best quicks of his generation, Cummins has quickly become a specialist run-getter in the last 18 months after featuring in two close Test wins and three ODI victories.
Rauf (3-67) continued his love affair with the MCG when he breathed life into what had been a simple chase by dismissing Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell on consecutive balls.
The 30-year-old failed to add another MCG hat-trick to the one he achieved with the Melbourne Stars in the BBL in 2020, but his fiery spell drew roars from the passionate Pakistan fans who made up the majority of the 25,831 in the crowd.
Australia’s shot selection let them down as Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis, Labuschagne and Aaron Hardie fell into a trend they would regret.
Inglis, who had an impressive start to the domestic season, wasted a good start after reaching 49.
Pat Cummins’ side bounced back to secure a thrilling victory against Pakistan on Monday night.
A lightning spell from Haris Rauf (pictured) saw Australia lose the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell in successive balls.
Hardie (10) inexplicably gave himself space to try and push the ball into offside, but was instead bowled with 25 overs still remaining.
Australian World Cup heroes Travis Head and Mitch Marsh are on paternity leave and will miss the three matches.
Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short have failed to impress as they try to secure a place as Head’s starting partners ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Pakistan only used four bowlers, all fast, but conceded 21 extras, 17 of them open.
Earlier, star pacer Mitchell Starc reached 100 ODI wickets in Australia faster than any bowler, breaking Brett Lee’s long-standing record.
Starc removed both Pakistan openers Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique to set the tone for Australia as they bowled out the tourists for 203.
The left-arm spinner, who has the fourth-most ODI wickets for Australia behind only Glenn McGrath, Lee and Shane Warne, started the international summer in ominous fashion.
Starc, who had a brief spell off the field to deal with cramp, nailed his line and length to finish with 3-33 after dismissing Shaheen Shah Afridi (24) in his 10th over.
His 100th wicket in Australia came in his 54th match, one better than Lee’s 55th.
With Australia using eight bowlers after Cummins won the toss, leg-spinner Adam Zampa (2-64) was the only other bowler to take multiple wickets, but scored 18 runs in his 10th over after being hit around the MCG by Naseem Shah.
The Pakistani quick entered the match with just 31 career ODI runs, but smashed 40 in an explosive innings that included four sixes.
Maxwell (right) was dismissed for ducking, while opener Matthew Short was caught for a run.
Josh Inglis was Australia’s top scorer with 49 off 42 deliveries before he was caught by Irfan Khan.
Pakistan landed in Australia amid off-field turmoil after respected white-ball coach Gary Kirsten resigned from his position without taking charge of an ODI.
In their first ODI since last year’s World Cup, Pakistan struggled to gain momentum and batted more like a 50-over match in the 1990s.
Babar Azam (37) and Pakistan’s new white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan (44) tried to push towards a competitive total but could never raise the run rate high enough.
