Australia vs. Pakistan, 1st ODI: Highlights, Scorecard and Report
Australia (255/8) dominated Pakistan (162) in the first of their three-match ODI series, winning by 93 runs thanks to an excellent performance from their spinners and a century from Steven Smith.
George Bailey won the toss and elected to bat first, but the team got off to a disastrous start. Aaron Finch was caught on the first delivery, as Ahmed Shehzad made a brilliant diving catch.
| AJ Finch | c: Shehzad b: Irfan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| DA Warner | c: Akmal b: Afridi | 43 | 63 | 5 | 0 | 68.25 |
| SPD Smith | c: Riaz b: Afridi | 101 | 118 | 6 | 2 | 85.59 |
| GJ Bailey | c: Afridi b: Alam | 18 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 |
| GJ Maxwell | c: Irfan b: Babar | 21 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 91.30 |
| JP Faulkner | lbw: Afridi | 11 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 55.00 |
| BJ Haddin | not out | 23 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 85.19 |
| SA Abbott | c: Ali b: Riaz | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 |
| MG Johnson | b: Riaz | 21 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 131.25 |
| KW Richardson | not out | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 200.00 |
| NM Lyon | ||||||
| Extras | (3lb, 9w, 0nb, 0b ) | 12 | ||||
| Total | 8 Wkts, 50.0 Overs | 255 | 5.10 Runs/Over | Total | 8 Wkts, 50.0 Overs | |
| Mohammad Irfan | 10.0 | 2 | 35 | 1 | 3.50 | 60.0 |
| Wahab Riaz | 10.0 | 0 | 61 | 2 | 6.10 | 30.0 |
| Zulfiqar Babar | 9.0 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 3.89 | 54.0 |
| Anwar Ali | 8.0 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 6.50 | |
| Shahid Afridi | 10.0 | 0 | 46 | 3 | 4.60 | 20.0 |
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The Aussies soon settled into a rhythm, however, as the duo of David Warner and Steven Smith put in an excellent shift. Warner was caught after scoring 43 runs from 78 balls, while Smith scored his first ODI century, with 101 from 186:
According to ESPN Cricinfo's Brydon Coverdale, it was his first ever one-day century regardless of the format:
The middle overs saw consistent production for Australia, and by the end of the 44th, Pakistan knew they were looking at a testing chase with the Aussies 216 for five. Pakistan shot themselves in the foot with several dropped catches, but the bowlers stepped up late on to restrict Australia to just 39 from the final six overs, with 17 coming in the last.
Shahid Afridi took three wickets, including Smith's, surrendering 46 runs in 10 overs. Zulfiqar Babar's ODI debut was a successful one, conceding 35 in nine and taking Glenn Maxwell's wicket.
Wahab Riaz struggled in the final over, however, setting the target at 256 for victory. #CRICKET liked Australia's chances:
History didn't favour Pakistan, per Faizan Lakhani:
Pakistan had a solid start to the powerplay (51 runs for the loss of 1 wicket, eclipsing Australia) but soon fell behind the required run rate. Sarfraz Ahmed contributed 34 from 41, but his fellow batsmen failed to establish any sort of rhythm. It wasn't until Umar Akmal stepped up in the 15th over that the team started scoring consistent runs.
| Ahmed Shehzad | c: Smith b: Johnson | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Sarfraz Ahmed | c: Haddin b: Lyon | 34 | 41 | 3 | 1 | 82.93 |
| Asad Shafiq | c: Haddin b: Johnson | 13 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 46.43 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | c: Warner b: Lyon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Fawad Alam | c: Warner b: Maxwell | 7 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 28.00 |
| Umar Akmal | b: Richardson | 46 | 57 | 6 | 0 | 80.70 |
| Shahid Afridi | c: Faulkner b: Abbott | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 71.43 |
| Anwar Ali | c: Haddin b: Johnson | 8 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 38.10 |
| Wahab Riaz | c&b: Maxwell | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Zulfiqar Babar | not out | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 77.78 |
| Mohammad Irfan | not out | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 100.00 |
| Extras | (5lb, 6w, 0nb, 4b ) | 16 | ||||
| Total | 9 Wkts, 35.5 Overs | 150 | 4.19 Runs/Over | Total | 9 Wkts, 35.5 Overs | |
| MG Johnson | 7.0 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 3.43 | 14.0 |
| KW Richardson | 6.3 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 3.38 | 39.0 |
| JP Faulkner | 2.0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 10.00 | |
| SA Abbott | 5.0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 5.00 | 30.0 |
| NM Lyon | 10.0 | 2 | 33 | 2 | 3.30 | 30.0 |
Australia did an excellent job containing the output, however, and with 17 overs left to play, the required run rate rose beyond seven. Cricket.com.au predicted Pakistan's chase was running out of overs:
Kane Richardson took Akmal's wicket after he scored 46 from 57, effectively ending all hopes the Pakistan team had of chasing down the target.
Nathan Lyon was phenomenal on Tuesday, surrendering 33 runs in 10 overs with two maidens and two wickets. Mitchell Johnson (seven overs, one maiden, 24 runs, three wickets) and Kane Richardson (6.3 overs, one maiden, 22 runs, one wicket) also did their part, as Australia comfortably held on for the win.
Misbah-ul-Haq was very disappointed by his team's batting, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo:
"The kind of batting performance we have had, need to do a lot of things. Nobody is getting scores right from the top. That is a big worry for us. Need to come in the next game with a positive attitude.
"
Coming into the series ranked fourth in the ICC rankings with 4,455 points, per ESPN Cricinfo, Australia have a chance to ascend all the way to the top spot with three wins against Pakistan. Judging by the easy win in the first ODI, despite limited contributions from Finch and Maxwell, there's no reason the Aussies shouldn't be confident they could take all three matches.
Pakistan were supposed to have the advantage on a slow pitch through their spinners but had no answer for Smith, and this series against Australia looks like it could get out of hand in a hurry if they don't get things sorted. The absence of Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez obviously hurts, but that doesn't justify a 93-run loss.
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