Crisis manager Cummins guides Australia to tense win over Pakistan
MELBOURNE: Pat Cummins proved once more he is the man for a batting crisis as he guided world champions Australia to a tense two-wicket win in their series-opening One-day International against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
Playing his first ODI since last year’s World Cup in India, Cummins kept his cool under pressure with a gritty unbeaten 32 from 31 balls to push the hosts past Pakistan’s modest total of 203.
Australia reached the target with 99 balls to spare, surviving a huge scare when they lost three wickets in five balls.
Cummins, who also took two wickets, burnished his record of guiding Australia to victory from positions of peril, having scored the winning runs during the Ashes Test at Edgbaston last year and twice hung tough with the bat at the World Cup.
“Tonight we got it done. I always much prefer sitting in the change-room but a wonderful match,” Cummins said. “It got a bit tighter than we would have liked in the end. Really happy with how the guys bowled, everyone really.”
The hosts were in trouble at 155-7 for seven when Cummins came to the crease, with Pakistan sniffing their first win in Australia in nearly eight years and energised by a three-wicket burst by paceman Haris Rauf.
Tailender Sean Abbott was run out for 13 to leave Australia needing 19 runs with two wickets in hand but Cummins and Mitchell Starc (two not out) held on.
Cummins smashed a four straight past Pakistan quick Mohammad Hasnain to level the score then punched a single square to seal the win.
Pace spearhead Starc was named man-of-the-match with three wickets, including dismissing both Pakistan’s openers.
Earlier, Starc took 3-33 Pakistan were dismissed for 203.
Newly appointed skipper Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 44 but they struggled against some precision bowling, all out in the 47th over after Australia won the toss and sent them in.
“We need to play teams like that,” said Rizwan. “We decided whatever the situation we will fight and show courage.
“The luck was with Australia and that’s why they won.”
In Pakistan’s first 50-over game since last year’s World Cup, Starc broke through in the third over with Saim Ayub chopping onto his stumps.
That brought Babar Azam to the crease, unburdened by the captaincy after quitting last month. He upped the tempo before Starc struck again, with Abdullah Shafique caught behind for a tame 12.
Babar put on 39 with Rizwan before spinner Adam Zampa entered the fray and broke the partnership, bowling Babar for 37 with his fourth delivery.
His replacement Kamran Ghulam lasted just six balls, no match for a brutal Cummins bouncer, gloving to wicket-keeper Josh Inglis to leave Pakistan struggling on 70-4 after 19 overs.
A patient Rizwan played himself in, but the wickets kept falling.
Salman Ali Agha was smartly taken at square leg for 12 by Matthew Short off pacer Abbott and Rizwan then departed attempting a sweep from part-time spinner Marnus Labuschagne.
But it took tail-end slogging from Naseem Shah (40) and Afridi (24) to push Pakistan past 200.
With Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head on paternity leave, the world champions had a new-look opening partnership in Jake Fraser-McGurk and Short.
But Short lasted just four balls before top-edging to Saim off Shaheen while Fraser-McGurk’s luck ran out on 16, slapping Naseem to Irfan Khan at mid-on.
The experienced Steve Smith steadied the ship alongside Inglis. They put on 85 for the third wicket before Smith was undone by Haris on 44, well caught by Saim at backward point.
Inglis followed for 49 soon after going for a big hit off Shaheen, taken by Irfan on his knees.
And when Haris removed Labuschagne (16) three balls later, then Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck, Australia were suddenly 139-6 and it was game on, before Cummins and Starc saw Australia home.
SCOREBOARD
PAKISTAN:
Abdullah Shafique c Inglis b Starc 12
Saim Ayub b Starc 1
Babar Azam b Zampa 37
Mohammad Rizwan c Inglis b Labuschagne 44
Kamran Ghulam c Inglis b Cummins 5
Salman Ali Agha c Short b Abbott 12
Mohammad Irfan Khan run out 22
Shaheen Afridi b Starc 24
Naseem Shah c Starc b Cummins 40
Haris Rauf b Zampa 0
Mohammad Hasnain not out 2
EXTRAS (NB-1, W-3) 4
TOTAL (all out, 46.4 overs) 203
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-3 (Saim), 2-24 (Abdullah), 3-63 (Babar), 4-70 (Kamran), 5-101 (Salman), 6-117 (Rizwan), 7-148 (Shaheen), 8-175 (Irfan), 9-183 (Haris)
BOWLING: Starc 10-3-33-3, Cummins 9.4-1-39-2, Abbott 8-0-34-1 (3w, 1nb), Hardie 4-0-15-0, Zampa 10-0-64-2, Short 1-0-2-0, Maxwell 3-0-11-0, Labuschagne 1-0-5-1
AUSTRALIA:
M. Short c Saim b Shaheen 1
J. Fraser-McGurk c Irfan b Naseem 16
S. Smith c Saim b Haris 44
J. Inglis c Irfan b Shaheen 49
M. Labuschagne c Irfan b Haris 16
A. Hardie b Hasnain 10
G. Maxwell c Rizwan b Haris 0
S. Abbott run out 13
P. Cummins not out 32
M. Starc not out 2
EXTRAS (LB-4, W-17) 21
TOTAL (for eight wickets, 33.3 overs) 204
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-19 (Short), 2-28 (Fraser-McGurk), 3-113 (Smith), 4-139 (Inglis), 5-139 (Labuschagne), 6-139 (Maxwell), 7-155 (Hardie), 8-185 (Abbott)
DID NOT BAT: A. Zampa
BOWLING: Shaheen 10-0-43-2, Naseem 7.2-0-39-1 (5w), Hasnain 7.1-0-51-1 (2w), Haris 9-0-67-3 (5w)
RESULT: Australia won by two wickets.
Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2024
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