Australia Vs Pakistan, 1st ODI Highlights: Aussies Win Low-Scoring MCG Thriller By 2 Wickets, Take 1-0 Lead

The first ball of the Australia vs Pakistan ODI series is scheduled to be bowled at 9am IST, with the toss at 8:30am. The match will be live streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app and website in India. It will be telecast on the Star Sports Network TV channels in India.

Pakistan (Playing XI): Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan(w/c), Kamran Ghulam, Agha Salman, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

Australia (Playing XI): Matthew Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steven Smith, Josh Inglis(w), Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Pat Cummins(c), Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Australia's Pat Cummins won the toss and has elected to field first in cool conditions in Melbourne. The ball could nip around a little early on, making batting difficult. All eyes will be on Mitchell Starc who will look to move the new ball around.

We are just about five minutes away from the first ball, and here's a look at the wonderful trophy the both teams are battling for over the next week.

Mitchell Starc begins the attack for Australia with two slips in place. Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub open for Pakistan. AND WE ARE READY.

Mitchell Starc makes an early breakthrough, dismissing Saim Ayub. Bowling a touch fuller, Starc finds the thick inside edge as Ayub pushes forward, sending the ball crashing into the stumps. Pakistan’s openers have looked tentative, and Starc capitalizes to draw first blood for Australia.

Babar Azam walks in. The opening partnerships for Ayub and Shafique across all international matches so far: 0, 0, 3, 5, 0, 7, 8, 0, 15, 9, 35, 14, and 3.

PAK - 5/1(3)

Starc attempts a killer yorker but misses the mark, allowing Babar to off-drive. He initially looked for a quick single, but Abbott, moving to his right for a one-handed pick-up to attempt a run-out, fumbled, giving Babar three runs.

PAK - 15/1(5.2)

Pakistan’s first boundary, and Shafique stamps his intent! Reading Cummins like a book, he stays back and cracks a mighty pull over mid-wicket. Shafique is off and running and now let’s see if Cummins brings out a fuller one in reply.

PAK - 24/1(6.1)

Shafique was trying to play it cool, letting a short ball go, but he couldn’t drop his bat in time, and it clipped the cue end. A bit lazy there, ngl, Starc takes his second wicket and gets his revenge for Cummins after Shafique's earlier boundary. Nice job, mate.

PAK - 28/2(7.5)

It seems stepping down as captain was just what Babar Azam needed to focus on his form. With no deep mid-wicket in sight, Mitchell Starc delivers a back-of-a-length ball, and Babar expertly rocks back to pull it in front of square, teasing the deep backward square leg fielder and evading his dive. That’s a fantastic shot, Babar is fully switched on, marking his third boundary of the game.

PAK - 45/2(12)

Australia are desperately hunting for wickets, searching everywhere, but the Pakistan batters are holding their ground. They’re playing it safe and avoiding risky singles.

PAK - 51/2(15)

Babar Azam stands out on one side, while the rest of the team has struggled on the other. While his teammates have faced difficulties in timing, placement, and picking the ball, Babar has approached his innings with intent, showcasing some delightful shots.

With Mitchell Starc having taken out both openers, the team is now focused on rebuilding. Mohammad Rizwan needs to elevate his performance, as Pakistan will require a score of at least 280 runs to remain competitive in this match.

Wasim Akram, part of the commentators' panel, urged the Indian team to visit Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy. He said, "Please come, you'll be well taken care of. There are fans everywhere, especially in Pakistan. Rohit and Virat, you’re cricket stars from India. You can arrive just a day before the match and leave right after, we're fine with that. Maybe take a quick flight from Lahore to Chandigarh; it’s just 20 minutes. But please, come."

And a big one from Adam Zampa in the first over. Babar Azam seems to be looking to play himself in, misjudged the length, opted to stay back to one that wasn't really short, might have kept low but certainly skidded on.
He opened up his stance, leaving the door open for the ball to crash into off stump while trying to flick it. Ouch. That is a huge blow for Pakistan; they have lost their star batter. Azam is out, bowled by Adam Zampa for 37 runs from 44 balls and provided four beautiful boundaries.

PAK - 70/4(19.1)

Pat Cummins takes Kamran Ghulam with a ripper. Bounces it short, which gives it extra bounce and added pace. Ghulam attempts to get across and get down to block it, loses focus and gets a glove on it instead. Josh Inglis takes the simple catch behind the wicket. This is now Pakistan's fourth wicket and they are in all sorts of trouble now.

Agha Salman comes to the crease.

PAK - 77/4(23.1)

Agha Salman mistimed a pull shot, sending it straight to square leg. Matthew Short, positioned to the left of the umpire, jumped high to take the catch. The short ball caught Agha off guard as he failed to control the bounce, resulting in a simple catch. That's five down now.

Irfan Khan comes to the crease.

PAK - 101/5(28.1)

Just when Pakistan saw hope in their new skipper, Mohammad Rizwan, as he scored boundaries, disaster struck. Rizwan attempted another sweep off a fullish googly from Marnus Labuschagne but ended up getting a top edge. The ball hung in the air long enough for Josh Inglis to sprint in from square leg and take an easy catch.

Marnus, known for his golden arm, has dismissed the set batter, leaving Pakistan in disarray.

As soon as the top edge went up, Marnus began clapping with a big smile, encouraging, “Take it, take it!” He ran off in celebration as Inglis completed the catch. Rizwan departs for 44 runs off 71 balls, including two fours and one six.

Shaheen Afridi comes to the crease, begins with a four.

PAK - 124/6 (33)

Oh, what a shot! Shaheen Shah Afridi hammers it down the ground, showing off his batting prowess. He waits for the full delivery and lofts it straight back over the bowler's head for a boundary. Irfan Khan gets in on the action with a four, and Afridi follows up with a six.

Can these two form a solid partnership?

PAK - 143/6 (35.5)

The Shaheen Shah Afridi fireworks fizzle out as Mitchell Starc strikes. The left-armer bowled a simple length delivery that moved in towards Afridi, who swung wildly for a big slog but completely missed. The ball clipped the top of middle stump, bringing a smile to Starc's face.

With a clever roll of his fingers, he deceived the batter. Afridi is bowled by Starc for 24 runs off 19 balls, which included three fours and one six.

Naseem Shah comes to the crease.

PAK 153/7 (38.1)

Pat Cummins is keeping Pakistani batters Naseem Shah and Irfan Khan tied down to singles and preventing any boundaries. They’re eager to find runs to set a competitive total.

Haris Rauf comes to the crease.

PAK 183/8 (43.3)

A needless run-out. Irfan Khan attempted a reverse sweep and gloved it to point before taking off but slipped in the process. At that moment, he could have called it off, but he chose to run.

Matthew Short made a calm throw to Glenn Maxwell, who effortlessly removed the bails. Irfan tried to slide his bat in but fell short. He was building a good partnership with Naseem Shah and didn’t need this setback.

Naseem steps out to the flighted delivery and muscles it over long-on, raising the score past 200. Zampa then delivers another flighted ball, but Naseem is ready; he lofts it over cover for a FOUR. This is fantastic batting from Naseem, adding crucial runs.

PAK 203/9 (46.2)

Australia will be satisfied with their performance today. Except for the late flurry by Naseem Shah, Pakistan's innings was rather lacklustre, managing to scrape together 200 runs. The top order could not find intent against a disciplined bowling attack.

Mitchell Starc was particularly impressive, setting a strong tone early on, while the rest of the bowlers supported him well. Adam Zampa finally got that all-important wicket of Babar Azam, and Naseem's last balls played on his poor figures.

The chase begins with Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk at the crease, while Shaheen Afridi takes the new ball. With a target of 204 set, it appears below par, putting pressure on Pakistan to secure early wickets.

AUS 4/0 (0.5)

Shaheen Afridi delivers to Matthew Short, and he's out caught by Saim Ayub. The ball goes high, as backward point sprints back, the keeper moves to the right, and third man rushes in. It could have been a chaotic moment.

AUS 21/1 (3)

And one nightmare gone, A length delivery kicks up, and Jake Fraser-McGurk, known for lofting the ball in the V, goes for a big hit over mid-on. Unfortunately, the ball catches the bat high, leading to a simple catch for mid-on. With both openers struggling to make their mark, Fraser-McGurk is out, caught by Irfan Khan off Naseem Shah for 16 runs off 14 balls, including one four.

Josh Inglis comes to the crease.

AUS 31/2 (4.4)

A cracking cover drive, but the fielder at cover dives to take pace off the ball. That shot was absolutely flying. Now, Mohammad Hasnain steps into the attack.

AUS 50/2 (7.4)

Hasnain joins the attack and tries to slide one in full. Steve Smith stands tall, driving it past mid-on for FOUR, bringing up Australia’s fifty. Next, a short ball comes in, and Smith is ready, pulling it with ease to the square-leg fence for another FOUR.

AUS 61/2 (10)

Naseem sends in a lovely outswinger that squares up Inglis, moving away late from the off-stump line. But Inglis responds in style, smashing the next short ball over mid-wicket for SIX.

AUS 93/2 (14)

A thick edge slices between the keeper and slip! Haris Rauf delivers a good-length ball outside off, and Inglis tries to guide it but ends up with a thick edge. The ball rockets through the gap as both fielders exchange glances. FOUR for Josh Inglis.

AUS 106/2 (15.4)

Smith sends it straight to backward point and walks off, clearly disappointed. Haris Rauf bowls a short-of-length delivery outside off, and Smith goes for the cut but doesn’t quite get on top of it. Saim Ayub takes a brilliant reverse-cup catch above his head, reacting quickly to the pace. Smith looked solid at the crease, but his innings comes to an end.

AUS 118/3 (17.4)

Pakistan's bowlers are in the zone now, claiming wickets one after another. Haris Rauf achieves a hat-trick, what a player. Glenn Maxwell departs for a golden duck, bringing Rauf's hat-trick into play. Rauf delivers a quick, short-of-length ball just outside off stump, and Maxwell attempts a reckless shot, trying to defend with an open face. Instead, he nicks it to the keeper.

Sean Abbott comes to the crease.

AUS 141/6 (20.4)

A short leg was added just before this delivery, and Hardie throws his wicket away. He makes room outside the leg stump, but with a back-of-a-length delivery on middle, he tries to cut but misses, hitting the top of the middle stump instead.

Mohammad Hasnain claims his first wicket, and now it’s all about the bowlers.

Pat Cummins comes to the crease.

AUS 163/7 (25.3)

What a turnaround in the last hour. Since Smith's departure, Australia lost key wickets and now relies solely on their bowlers. Pakistan, led by Rauf, has been exceptional, and it’s likely that Rauf will make one final push.

AUS 171/7 (27.4)

Australia needs 19 runs to win the match, but they currently have only their bowlers at the crease: Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. It’ll be intriguing to see who steps up to secure the victory.

AUS 185/8 (30)

Hasnain delivers a half-tracker, and Cummins smashes the ball down the ground past Starc for FOUR, leveling the scores. He then seals the victory with a push through cover. Australia faces a massive scare but manages to edge past the visitors to take the lead. Once again, Cummins steps up to guide his team through a tricky phase, finishing unbeaten on 32 off 31 balls.

"It's always nice to start the summer off on a positive note with the group. Powerplay wickets are always nice. Positive effort with the ball and we got the job done. Saw it swing away a bit there and we were sloppy on the field. We lost two many wickets and put pressure on us again. It's a big summer with the Test series and 5 more white ball games before that."

In the first ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Pakistan posted a total of 203 runs in 46.4 overs. Australia successfully chased down the target, finishing at 204 for 8 in 33.3 overs for a nail-biting 2-wicket victory. That wraps up our coverage of this match. We'll be back for more live action soon. Until then, goodbye.