The journey of Pakistani cricket team under the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan has started with defeat. The Pakistani team that went on Australia tour for the ODI series had to face defeat by 2 wickets in the first match. In this match played on Monday 4th November at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the performance of the fast bowlers from both the sides was seen but the only difference was that the Australian pacers proved to be economical along with taking wickets. Also, star batsman Babar Azam, who was out of the Test team, returned from this series but as soon as he returned, the Pakistani team had to face defeat. Coincidentally, after dropping him from the team, Pakistan won the Test series by winning 2 consecutive matches.

Pakistani batting failed in front of Starc

Pakistan batted first but faced problems against Australia's fast bowlers on the fast and bouncy pitch of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The pair of Abdullah Shafiq and Saim Ayub, who entered the ODIs after the Test, failed here too. Ayub, who was making his ODI debut, was bowled by Mitchell Starc in the very first over, while Starc also dismissed Shafiq in the next over. Babar Azam, who returned to the ODI series after being dropped from the Test team, hit some good shots as soon as he came but then he failed against the leg spinner and was bowled by Adam Zampa.

Pakistan's new captain Mohammad Rizwan controlled the innings by staying at the crease for a long time but he too was out after scoring 44 runs. Pakistan had lost 7 wickets for only 117 runs. It was here that Naseem Shah improved the team's position with batting. The young fast bowler showed the power of his bat and scored 40 runs and took the team to 203 runs, due to which the team remained in the competition. Whereas debutants Irfan Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi also played short but useful innings. For Australia, Starc took 3 wickets and captain Pat Cummins took 2 wickets.

Australia won even after losing 8 wickets

Australia also did not have a good start and by the fourth over both its openers, Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk had returned to the pavilion. At such a time, star batsman Steve Smith and wicketkeeper Josh English took charge of the innings. Together they attacked the Pakistani fast bowlers and scored runs quickly. There was a partnership of 85 runs between the two, which laid the foundation for Australia's victory.

Till this time the Australian team seemed to be in a strong position but suddenly Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi destroyed the Australian middle order including Smith-Inglis. Within no time Australia's score became 7 wickets for 155 runs. From here, captain Pat Cummins took charge and then along with Mitchell Starc led the team to victory. Cummins returned unbeaten after scoring 33 runs.