MELBOURNE: Pakistan stumbled early in their innings, losing four wickets, including both openers for just 71 runs after being sent into bat by Australia in the first ODI at the MCG on Monday.
Opting to bowl first on a cool Melbourne day, Australia faced a Pakistan lineup featuring two ODI debutants: opening batsman Saim Ayub and middle-order batsman Irfan Khan.
Ayub and Abdullah Shafique started the innings for Pakistan, despite their limited success as a Test opening pair. Babar Azam returned to the lineup at No. 3 after being rested for Pakistan’s last two Tests against England at home, while captain Mohammad Rizwan lost his wicket at 63. Babar Azam was the fourth batsman to lose his wicket. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah rejoined the squad, bolstering a four-man pace attack.
Under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan—recently appointed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain following Babar Azam’s resignation—the Men in Green are playing their first ODI since a disappointing 93-run defeat to England in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, where they failed to reach the semi-finals.
In contrast, Australia comes into this series with strong momentum, fresh off a 3-2 away series win over England.
Historically, Australia and Pakistan have faced each other 108 times in ODIs, with the five-time World Cup champions holding a dominant record of 70 wins compared to Pakistan’s 34. At home, the Australians also have an impressive record, winning 37 out of 56 matches, while Pakistan has claimed victory 17 times.
Playing XIs
- Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.
- Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.
