Australia 204 for 8 (Inglis 49, Smith 44, Cummins 32*, Rauf 3-67) beaten Pakistan 203 (Rizwan 44, Naseem 40, Starc 3-33, Cummins 2-39) by two wickets
The crowd, 25,831 strong, appeared sparse in the gargantuan MCG. But it felt like 100,000, and it felt like it was in Lahore, as Pakistani fans drowned out the home side to help their team stay in the game. But there was little they could do as Pakistan found a way to lose despite being on the brink of one of the great ODI heists.
His 32 not outs won’t go down as his most memorable, but it was the equal of any of his best innings in Australian colors. It was also vindication of his decision to undergo winter laser eye surgery to improve his vision, as well as extensive batting work in Sydney with renowned Australian batting consultant and coach Trent Woodhill.
Australia’s chase started poorly with the new opening duo of Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk both falling in the first four overs.
Fraser-McGurk’s 16th was particularly frenetic. But Smith was calm and settled into a stereotypical groove. Any fears about his Test form may well be allayed given the way he handled some excellent fast bowling off a fast pitch.
Australia could have been 55 for 3 when Inglis was dropped by Irfan Khan at gully. Naseem managed to get a length back and catch the edge, but Irfan couldn’t hold on to fly high to his right.
It seemed like it might be the last chance. Barring an advantage between the keeper and a wide slide trying to slide a ball in, Inglis was imperious. Coach Jason Gillespie’s four years of coaching against Inglis in Australian domestic cricket had not translated to his four-pronged attack avoiding falling short for Western Australia. It cost them three sixes and two fours.
After an 85-run stand, Smith made an uncharacteristic error. He clipped a cut Rauf straight to backward point to be bowled out for 44.
Pakistan’s insistence on going short against Inglis paid off when he took another pulled shot off Shaheen only to see Irfan run a long way to latch on to an exceptional catch in the deep.
Rauf, a favorite for the Melbourne Stars, then delighted the Pakistani fans as he increased the speed and Australia lost 3 for 0. Labuschagne found himself in third position, undone by an extra bounce. Maxwell played the next ball to Rizwan and Australia were 139 for 6.
Aaron Hardie and Abbott stabilized briefly but it was fleeting. Hardie fell trying to cut back and clipped a ball from Mohammad Hasnain which hit the top of mid-off.
Enter the captain for another rescue job. It was unconventional, as always. He was bombarded with short bullets. But he continued to score and survive. Abbott was exhausted when Cummins pushed for a third. But he was still there at the end when the winning runs were scored to break the hearts of everyone who doesn’t bleed green and gold.
Starc and Cummins, fresh and in rhythm before a big summer, put on a show in front of a very pro-Pakistani audience. Starc’s flashes of 140 km/h accounted for Saim Ayub on debut and Abdullah Shafique.
The pair were opening the batting in ODI cricket for the first time after averaging just 8 as a pair in 12 Test innings together. Their international average fell to 7.61 when Ayub tried to move up.
Shafique looked like he was batting in a Test match. He defended, dodged and weaved his way from 12 to 26 before failing to keep his bat clear of a rising delivery from Starc as he tried to swing inside.
Babar and Rizwan settled down but never picked up speed. Babar looked in fine touch but felt the pinch of the slowly advancing scoreboard. He tried to create a scoring option off the back foot of Adam Zampa, but chose the wrong length and lost his stump.
Cummins welcomed Kamran Ghulam to Australia with a brutal delivery. The whites of his eyes lit up as Cummins’ 90 mph bouncer reared up against his throat. He raised his hands in time but was only able to do so at Inglis.
Rizwan’s slow rearguard started to gain momentum when he hooked Starc in the stands with a good leg. But he fell to Labuschagne trying to sweep a wide leg break to get a top edge on his helmet which popped towards Inglis.
Some late strikes from Naseem, Shaheen Afridi and Irfan Khan, in the mold of the man who had presented Wasim Akram with his first cap, took Pakistan out of a disastrous position at 117 for 6 at 203.
Naseem and Shaheen showed the type of intent Pakistan’s top order could have used, launching five sixes between them after the entire top seven had contributed one, before Shaheen was castled by Starc for 24 out of 19.
Naseem feasted on spin, throwing Zampa into the stands twice and Maxwell once. But Naseem also bowled Sean Abbott over deep midwicket. He finished halfway through to end the round. If he had fought to the end, that might have been enough.
Alex Malcolm is Associate Editor at PK Press Club
