Fans applaud Pat Cummins: Pat Cummins has delivered for Australia once again with the bat to steer a tricky and nervous run-chase calmly in the first ODI against Pakistan.
Australia took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Mohammad Rizwan’s team with a two-wicket victory in the first ODI in Melbourne.
What seemed like a routine chase for Australia when they were 113/2 in the pursuit of 204 turned really tricky, to a point where Pakistan could have even won the game, as the hosts slipped to 185/8, losing six wickets for 72 runs.
However, captain Cummins batted with immense patience on a spicy MCG pitch against the four-man Pakistani pace attack to defend plenty of balls while also hitting the loose ones into the gap and also collecting four boundaries in his knock of 32* off 31 balls to take his side home with only two wickets left.
Earlier, Cummins and Starc had combined with Zampa and others to restrict Pakistan to 203. Captain Rizwan top-scored for his side on his full-time ODI captaincy debut with 44, and tailender Naseem Shah whacked 40 runs to take Pakistan just over 200.
Australia lost their openers for 28 runs, but Steve Smith and Josh Inglis brought calm to the chase and settled things down with their stand of 85 (75). That seemed to have allayed all fears in the Australian dressing room, and the hosts were looking to coast to victory with ease.
However, a middle-overs spell from pacer Haris Rauf turned the game dramatically as he took three quick wickets while Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain made dents. Pat Cummins walked in at 155/7 and held his end, but he lost Aaron Hardie to a runout.
Cummins, though, remained ice cool, giving a reiteration of his unflappable temperament and guiding his side home with the bat.
Fans on Twitter hailed the Australian captain for getting the job done with the bat. It’s been at least four instances since last year that Cummins has held his nerve admirably to seal run-chases across formats.
Fans applaud Pat Cummins for his brilliant batting effort in the 1st ODI against Pakistan:
Mitchell Starc was named the Man of the Match for his excellent bowling figures of 10-3-33-3. The second ODI will be played at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.
