Australia (204/8) beat Pakistan (203) by 2 wickets in a low-scoring thriller in the first ODI

Babar is useless in the field.

Hasnain is bang average, I would replace him with Amir.

The batting also needs to be fixed, Shafique and Ayub are garbage.
 
Even 50 more could have won the game for Pakistan. But the batting was quite poor. Batters clearly struggled to cope with the pace and bounce.
 
Yeah true.

Still think if Niazi had taken Inglis and had Australia 3 down in the powerplay, PAK would've won this.

Tough batting pitch
They definitely would have. I'm very dissapointed in Australia 🫤. Everyone is aged or too new and medicore.
 
We lost this match because of Misbah’s tuktuk tactics! Send back Husnain and bring in Fakhar!
 
Pakistan lost the game while batting. To have even scored over 200 was some effort.
Bowlers tried but then again nothing to play with.
 
Its more common than you might think, fake Aussie. That's why part-timers are brought on. If you had actually started watching cricket before 2020, you might know this
But it's Spin Bradman bro, The God of spin. The goat sweeper and keeper, MUHAMMAD RIZWAN.

Must be having a fever, Cause ain't no way the God of spin gets dismissed to such part timers.
 
Maxwell is also finished and needs to be replaced
Yeah I agree. Problem is I'm pretty sure if their was a replacement available they'd have drafted one in by now.

Australia ain't India or Pak in that they hold on to seniors for dear life.

If their playing Maxwell it means they haven't found a ready replacement yet
 
Cummins has an amazing temperament.
Made for tense moments, big moments.
 
No I think you're just having a brain aneurysm
Yes but Spin Bradman is untouchable and immortal. He's the God of Spin. Even with an aneurysm he's the greatest player of all time.

So how did he get out to Labu, can you explain.
 
People praising rizzu but convientally forgetting his 41 of 77 🤣🤣.

Meanwhile pat cummins showed us how it's done.
Its okay bro, its his first match as captain, give him some time...Pak were the underdogs today and they fought well. There is still a lot of room for improvement.
 
People praising rizzu but convientally forgetting his 41 of 77 🤣🤣.

Meanwhile pat cummins showed us how it's done.

To let the game slip after reaching this point is unforgivable as well, who knows, we may not get this close all series and that batting line up is just horrid, these are the players Rizwan wanted and they took out their biggest match winner so that the leadership is not going to be under any threat
 
To let the game slip after reaching this point is unforgivable as well, who knows, we may not get this close all series and that batting line up is just horrid, these are the players Rizwan wanted and they took out their biggest match winner so that the leadership is not going to be under any threat
Brother rizzu's captaincy will get exposed soon enough.
 
No point in dropping Imam and Fakhar as an opening combo and no point in playing 4 pacers , could have tried Faisal Akram here and due to his novelty he might pickup couple of wickets here and he is generally economical in OD format as well.
 
Abdullah timid mentality alone can cost Pakistan many more games , The guy should be limited to test cricket in home conditions only.
 
Post game interview with Pat Cummins:

Australia captain: Tonight we got it done, always much prefer sitting in the changing room. Wonderful match but got a bit tighter than we would have liked. Really happy with the way the guys bowled, Starcy was terrific at the top and the others bowled really well. [on trying 8 bowlers] Trying to keep it interesting, Marnus is always in my ear so he had to have an over, he got one wicket. With this being an ODI and with the conditions, got plenty of allrounders, might as well use them. For three-quarters we were really good, try and find some partnerships, looking to play aggressively and sometimes it may not work, but think still room to try and find a couple of partnerships.

Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan captain: We decided whatever the situation we will fight and show courage. It was good, this kind of match you can't say anything. It's difficult to read anything into this game, the result is in God's hands, but I'm happy with the fight we put up. I was keeping myself busy with field changes. Will give credit to both teams' bowlers. We have always seen a lot of support for Pakistan. Haris Rauf bowled very well, what we decided as a bowling group we don't want to go to the 5th or 6th bowler, try and use the four seamers. The luck was with Australia and that's why they won.
 

Australia edge past Pakistan in hard-fought series opener​


Australia overcame Pakistan by two wickets in the first of the three-match ODI series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in a tense chase on Monday. Chasing 204 runs, Pat Cummins-led Australia reached the target in 33.3 overs with the skipper playing a crucial hand of unbeaten 32 off 31 balls hitting four fours.

Pakistan’s pace quartet of Haris Rauf (3-67), Shaheen Shah Afridi (2-43), Naseem Shah (1-39) and Mohammad Hasnain (1-51) shared seven wickets among them but couldn’t keep the defeat at bay.

At the beginning of the chase, Australia lost their opening batters, Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk to Shaheen and Naseem, respectively with the scorecard reading 28-2.

At this point, Steve Smith (44, 46b, 6x4s) and Josh Inglis (49, 42b, 4x4s, 3x6s) came together to stitch an 85-run third-wicket partnership solidifying Australia’s position.

Haris inspired Pakistan to comeback in the game by removing Smith in the 17th over as Australia went onto lose five wickets in a span of 8.5 overs as they were reduced to 155-7. Shaheen dismissed Inglis in the 20th over while Haris returned to eke out Marnus Labuschagne (16, 13b, 2x4s) and Glenn Maxwell on consecutive balls in the 21st over.

After Hardie was castled in the 26th over by Hasnain, Sean Abbott and Cummins put on 30 runs for eighth wicket taking just 27 balls. Abbott was run-out in the 30th over with Australia 185-8, requiring 19 more runs which Cummins and Starc achieved in 23 balls taking Australia home safely.

Earlier, after being put into bat Pakistan were dismissed for 203 in 46.4 overs. Captain Mohammad Rizwan, who was leading the team for the first time in ODIs, top-scored for the side with a 71-ball 44, hitting two fours and a six. He also added 39 runs for the third wicket with Babar Azam (37, 44b, 4x4s).

After the departure of Rizwan at 117 for six in 31.4 overs, the last four wickets added 86 runs on the board with Naseem scoring a 39-ball 40, which included a boundary and four sixes. Shaheen scored 24 off 19, hitting three fours and a six, while debutant Muhammad Irfan Khan scored 22 off 35, smashing two fours.

For Australia, left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc was the most successful bowler, grabbing three wickets for 33 runs in 10 overs, which also included debutant Saim Ayub (1,5b) wicket as well.

Both sides will now feature in the second ODI at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on 8 November.

Scores in brief:

Australia beat Pakistan by two wickets

Pakistan 203 all out, 46.4 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 44, Naseem Shah 40, Babar Azam 37; Mitchell Starc 3-33, Pat Cummins 2-39, Adam Zampa 2-64)

Australia 204-8, 33.3 overs (Josh Inglis 49, Steven Smith 44, Pat Cummins 32 not out; Haris Rauf 3-67, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-43)

Player of the match – Mitchell Starc (Australia)
 
This was probably our best chance to win an odi this series as Aus batting collapsed. Just needed 240 on the board. Or hold all catches. Next 2 games couple of Aussie batters will fire and they will get 300+ easily. Even now they lost wickets but run rate was hovering above 6 for most part of game and 7 for first 20 overs.
 
This was probably our best chance to win an odi this series as Aus batting collapsed. Just needed 240 on the board. Or hold all catches. Next 2 games couple of Aussie batters will fire and they will get 300+ easily. Even now they lost wickets but run rate was hovering above 6 for most part of game and 7 for first 20 overs.
This game was winnable even with the score.

The horrible fielding cost pakistan.

They could had fraser out on the 2nd delivery but Babar miscued it. Then they could have had inglis out but niazi dropped it.

Pakistan also missed multiple run outs.
 
Haris Rauf in a post match presser answered following queries:

Could you have defended this total?

Yes, we could have done that and all the boys put in a lot of efforts for that whether it be as a bowling or a fielding unit. We tried to take wickets, succeeded in that too and took it close to winning but in the end result wasn't in our favor. We didn't compromise at all in term of energy and effort on the field as a team and all the boys put in their 100 percent effort.

What cost Pakistan the match today? Extras in bowling or were your team 30 to 40 runs short

We did leak a bit more extra runs in the bowling but such things happen when you tend to bowl aggressively. No doubt we have made mistakes today and have conceded extras but we shall try to learn from this experience as these small things do put an impact on the game outcome. So from the next time, we shall ensure not to repeat these mistakes, concede extras and fielding could be improved likewise. Anyway, if you have a good bowling unit and your batters fall 20 to 30 runs short (of average total) on board then bowlers could cover up this deficit.

What exactly is the reason behind Pakistan's tantalizing close defeats in the white ball format?

Whether you get the chance to bat first or second, you only score enough runs when you build partnerships. I think we are lacking a bit on building good batting partnerships. So we shall try to work on this aspect in the coming matches.

Why Pakistan players face injuries and cramps so often?

Talking about facing cramps. Not only us but opposition players were having cramp issues too. It can occur to anybody at any time. Starc and other players in the opposition were facing a bit of it too. So injuries never occur to you with foreknowledge and can happen to anyone.

Was it part of the team plan to bowl frequent short balls?

Yes, we had decided to bowl short balls from one end and we got success in that too as it resulted in fall of two to three opposition wickets. So we stuck to our plan of using short balls from one end.

Your experience at MCG and thoughts on Shaheen Shah Afridi's lost pace:

Shaheen took wicket early on in the match and put pressure on the opposition. All of our boys are doing well and giving their best especially as a bowling unit. Shaheen has taken a lot of wickets for us in the past and sometimes you don't get into your rhythm. But it takes only a match or sometimes just an over to get back into your rhythm. I am bowling with Shaheen in the nets these days and he is bowling really well there and is looking good in his rhythm. So you guys would see an improved performance from him in the coming matches.

Your team did well in the T20 WC final 2022 here and also replicated the same bowling performances here today. so as a bowling unit, are you satisfied with your performances today:

We have done a lot of mistakes in the past. But let bygones be bygones, and we don't need to dwell in the past. So we try to live in the present as much as we could as it is the only way to enjoy the game. And no need to think much about future as these things are not in your control. So live in the present, enjoy the moment and put in your best effort.
 
No shock we didn't put enough runs on the board. Picking an opening pair of saim and Abdullah is like watching paint Dry. On top of that the top 4 again contains 3 batsmen who bat to slow..

Seems nothing was learnt from shambolic world cup. If this is line up for champions trophy, then it will be embarrassing
 
We’re right back in the miserable Misbah era with this pathetic, defensive style of play! I wasted my whole night just to watch a so-called ODI that looked more like a test match. The number of dot balls was insane absolutely unacceptable. Misbah’s ancient ‘tuk-tuk’ mindset will never work for Pakistan in modern cricket! Other teams are smashing 300+ scores regularly, while we’re stuck with Misbah’s outdated advice holding our players back.

Last night was an absolute disaster. Zero aggression. Just dead, boring, soul crushing tuk-tuk. And now I’m sitting here on espresso just to keep myself awake, my mood totally wrecked. Misbah fans, show yourselves! I need someone to vent this out on! Anyone brave enough to defend this nonsense?
 
We’re right back in the miserable Misbah era with this pathetic, defensive style of play! I wasted my whole night just to watch a so-called ODI that looked more like a test match. The number of dot balls was insane absolutely unacceptable. Misbah’s ancient ‘tuk-tuk’ mindset will never work for Pakistan in modern cricket! Other teams are smashing 300+ scores regularly, while we’re stuck with Misbah’s outdated advice holding our players back.

Last night was an absolute disaster. Zero aggression. Just dead, boring, soul crushing tuk-tuk. And now I’m sitting here on espresso just to keep myself awake, my mood totally wrecked. Misbah fans, show yourselves! I need someone to vent this out on! Anyone brave enough to defend this nonsense?
Have Pakistanis completely lost touch with “game awareness”. On this pitch, good solid batting was needed to put 230 odd on the board. Every game/conditions is not the same you cannot play 1 way everywhere. Didn’t you all see how Bazball got embarrassed?
It’s the “intent” and “aggression” cliches that led to the eventual downfall with needless hoicks.
 
Australia now holds the joint record for the most victories against Pakistan in Men's ODIs.

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But it's Spin Bradman bro, The God of spin. The goat sweeper and keeper, MUHAMMAD RIZWAN.

Must be having a fever, Cause ain't no way the God of spin gets dismissed to such part timers.
The original Bradman last innings score reads zero.. So things happen.. Blindly hating anyone is not good..
 
A lesson for so many on this forum.

They think teams should go for 400 every time they bat first in any corner of the world 😀

Minnowistan barely making it past 200 is a regular occurence on these sena tours. That was OZ just playing around. They could have tuk tuk their way to a easy win.
 
I am so sick of seeing these horrific techniques. It's the same old scenario, mid 20s batter plucked from obscurity. Starts flapping around his bat and jumping around like a kangaroo as soon as he lands in SENA.
 
Pakistanis blaming Misbah for everything has gotten so boring and lame at this point. Like just come up with some new material bro. Anyone who doesn't want to bother to come up with any kind of real analysis uses this as an excuse.
 
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Have Pakistanis completely lost touch with “game awareness”. On this pitch, good solid batting was needed to put 230 odd on the board. Every game/conditions is not the same you cannot play 1 way everywhere. Didn’t you all see how Bazball got embarrassed?
It’s the “intent” and “aggression” cliches that led to the eventual downfall with needless hoicks.



Saim and Abdullah have been simply poor in their performances.

Rizwan the Batsman:
When Babar was dismissed, Rizwan, who was well-set at the crease, needed to step up as the aggressor. As the established batsman, he was in the best position to accelerate the scoring, which would have allowed the incoming batsman some breathing room to settle in before they had to take on a more attacking role. Rizwan missed the chance to lead the innings tempo, and his decision to hold back only added pressure to the new batsman.

Rizwan the Captain:
As captain, Rizwan also needed to take charge of the situation by clearly communicating the game plan to each incoming batsman. By ensuring everyone was aligned with the strategy, he could have helped maintain focus and direction in the innings. His role was not just to bat but to guide the team tactically, and stronger communication might have led to a more cohesive and confident approach from the team.
 
You can take the moral victory. Pakistan don't have mental ability to beat australia in australia even they dominates the 90% game.
The last ODI series between the two sides was won by Pakistan. Pakistan landed in Aus 4 days ago with no practice games and yet Aus just sneaked through. It will be hard for Aus to compete in the rest of the tournament if they don’t pull their socks up.
 
Saim and Abdullah have been simply poor in their performances.

Rizwan the Batsman:
When Babar was dismissed, Rizwan, who was well-set at the crease, needed to step up as the aggressor. As the established batsman, he was in the best position to accelerate the scoring, which would have allowed the incoming batsman some breathing room to settle in before they had to take on a more attacking role. Rizwan missed the chance to lead the innings tempo, and his decision to hold back only added pressure to the new batsman.

Rizwan the Captain:
As captain, Rizwan also needed to take charge of the situation by clearly communicating the game plan to each incoming batsman. By ensuring everyone was aligned with the strategy, he could have helped maintain focus and direction in the innings. His role was not just to bat but to guide the team tactically, and stronger communication might have led to a more cohesive and confident approach from the team.
Totally irrelevant. The clarity should have been to play 50 overs and get to 230. This is a pretty average Aus batting line up. Walking wickets most of them except Smith and some extent Labu.
 
Totally irrelevant. The clarity should have been to play 50 overs and get to 230. This is a pretty average Aus batting line up. Walking wickets most of them except Smith and some extent Labu.
It’s not irrelevant;

While I agree that batting the full 50 overs and aiming for 230 was important, getting there required a tactical approach, especially when Babar got out. Rizwan, as the set batsman, was in the ideal position to take on the aggressor role and control the pace. If he had done this, it would have allowed the new batsman time to settle in rather than immediately facing pressure.

Also, as captain, it was crucial for Rizwan to clarify the game plan to incoming batsmen—whether it was pushing for 230 or taking things in phases. Simply aiming for 50 overs without a clear strategy on how to reach that total often leads to collapses, especially with a fragile batting lineup.
 
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The last ODI series between the two sides was won by Pakistan. Pakistan landed in Aus 4 days ago with no practice games and yet Aus just sneaked through. It will be hard for Aus to compete in the rest of the tournament if they don’t pull their socks up.
Pakistan won the last ODI series in australia against australia?
 
Have Pakistanis completely lost touch with “game awareness”. On this pitch, good solid batting was needed to put 230 odd on the board. Every game/conditions is not the same you cannot play 1 way everywhere. Didn’t you all see how Bazball got embarrassed?
It’s the “intent” and “aggression” cliches that led to the eventual downfall with needless hoicks.
Thn go play test match… don’t play Odi
 
It’s not irrelevant; it’s just that you’re biased because you’re a fan girl and cheerleader of Rizwan.

While I agree that batting the full 50 overs and aiming for 230 was important, getting there required a tactical approach, especially when Babar got out. Rizwan, as the set batsman, was in the ideal position to take on the aggressor role and control the pace. If he had done this, it would have allowed the new batsman time to settle in rather than immediately facing pressure.

Also, as captain, it was crucial for Rizwan to clarify the game plan to incoming batsmen—whether it was pushing for 230 or taking things in phases. Simply aiming for 50 overs without a clear strategy on how to reach that total often leads to collapses, especially with a fragile batting lineup.
Didn’t Australia play with all that intent and still ended up at (nearly) the same spot? They were lucky to escape with a win with some brainless batting.
The intent brigade couldn’t save bazballers from embarrassment nor could it save Aussies.
Intent business only works on flat tracks. When conditions are favorable to bowlers, you have to dig in.
 
Didn’t Australia play with all that intent and still ended up at (nearly) the same spot? They were lucky to escape with a win with some brainless batting.
The intent brigade couldn’t save bazballers from embarrassment nor could it save Aussies.
Intent business only works on flat tracks. When conditions are favorable to bowlers, you have to dig in.
It would be beneficial if you actually watched the matche instead of just reading the scorecards and coming here to debate.

Pakistan would likely have been all out before reaching 150 if Australia hadn’t started toying with them. If Australia had taken the game seriously, they wouldn't have been bowling their batsmen Marcus and Matthew Short.

If you think Australia were serious care to explain naseem shah 40 and shaheen shah's 24 at a better strike than babar and rizwan?
 
I was talking about Pakistan mentality in australia.
No you were not. You said Pakistan is no match for Australia, but Aus escaped with an embarrassing loss to Pakistan even though everything was stacked against them.
 
Didn’t Australia play with all that intent and still ended up at (nearly) the same spot? They were lucky to escape with a win with some brainless batting.
The intent brigade couldn’t save bazballers from embarrassment nor could it save Aussies.
Intent business only works on flat tracks. When conditions are favorable to bowlers, you have to dig in.
Australia won with difficulty because they threw the game away thanks to Haris Rauf bowling 🔥.

However it's thanks to their dominance that they were never under RR pressure. Pakistan scored 35 for 1 in the first 10 overs compared to Australia scoring 60.

How many times will rauf topple Australia? These hat tricks won't happen every game. And Australia will more often then not reach 300 to 350 scores.

Them what will pakistan do? Score 140 in 40 overs and try their level best to chase 120 to 150 in the final 10?
 
Pakistan were 40-50 runs short minimum. 250 could've been matchwinning.

Bowlers did a good job. They made a match out of it.
 
If you score 0-200, definitely expect a low scoring thriller from Pakistan. You won’t know if you scored enough until and unless you see Pakistan’s batch of snail paced batsmen get bundled for no runs between them while their modern day ODI batsman is forced to sit at home. 🥱
 
The reality is Pakistan was some runs short but they made the game out of nowhere. SHould have finished it in a victory but luck went in Aussie favor.

Hard fought battle it was. openers need to sacked.
 
The reality is Pakistan was some runs short but they made the game out of nowhere. SHould have finished it in a victory but luck went in Aussie favor.

Hard fought battle it was. openers need to sacked.
Can't blame luck all the time. We would have lost even we scored 275. Our players just don't have it. They always get some quick wickets and then no energy.
 
Tired of hearing all these luck talks as if Australia own luck. Australia played poorly but they are still better than us. No team will bear players like Shafiq, Saim, Husnain, Babar.... all the time. You are bound to loose. If Australia play their natural game they will win by 6-0. Next matches Australia will come much harder and crushed these lalloo players.
 
Can't blame luck all the time. We would have lost even we scored 275. Our players just don't have it. They always get some quick wickets and then no energy.
it was luck bro. Catch got dropped. Some sloppy fielding. A complete package o lose a game.
 
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