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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 produced a nerveless knock of 32 from 31 balls to push the hosts past Pakistan’s modest total of 203 with 16.3 overs to spare.
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 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.
In Pakistan’s first ODI since missing the World Cup semi-finals, the team’s top batter Babar Azam returned to the lineup after being stunningly dropped for the second and third tests against England.
The former captain made 37 off 44 balls before being bowled by legspinner Adam Zampa with an ill-judged push at a straight delivery.
Saim Ayub made his ODI debut for Mohammad Rizwan-captained Pakistan, reprising his opening partnership in tests with Abdullah Shafique, despite the pair’s terrible record batting together.
Both were dismissed cheaply by Starc; Ayub for one after chopping onto his stumps and Shafique caught behind for 12.
Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with 44 and ODI debutant Irfan Khan made 22 batting at seven before being run out.
But it took tail-end slogging from Naseem Shah (40) and Afridi (24) to push Pakistan past 200.
Australia were missing four from the team that thrashed India in the World Cup final, with David Warner having retired, paceman Josh Hazlewood rested and both Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh on paternity leave.
Openers Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk both botched their auditions to succeed Warner as Australia’s ODI opener for the long-term, with Short caught for one and Fraser-McGurk out for a streaky 16.
Steve Smith (44) and Josh Inglis (49) put on 85 runs for the third wicket before falling to Pakistan’s pacemen.
The ground was only a quarter full with a crowd of 25,800 but Rauf had Pakistan fans jumping in the terraces with a sizzling spell that included dismissing Marnus Labuschagne (16) and Glenn Maxwell (0) in successive deliveries.
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