Cummins Defeats a Flaming Rauf to Secure a Close Victory -

In his first ODI match since the World Cup final last year, Pat Cummins was outstanding with the ball and bat, helping Australia defeat Pakistan by a nerve-wracking two wickets.

Playing their first ODI match in nearly a year, the visitors faltered at bat, managing just 203 runs, and were likely to lose quickly until Haris Rauf rallied them. But Cummins maintained composure in the closing moments and ensured Australia won to start their home summer.

During the run chase, Australia quickly scored 18 runs. But Matthew Short gave Pakistan an early lead as he mistimed a pull against Shaheen Afridi. Naseem Shah dismissed the other opener in the very next over after Jake Fraser-McGurk hit a weak one to the fielder at mid-on.

However, Josh Inglis and Steve Smith were unaffected by that nervous start and calmed the jitters by each hitting a boundary in the following two overs.

Smith kept up his fluid batting style, smashing Mohammad Hasnain for a couple of boundaries before Inglis took Naseem apart for a six.

When Australia cruised at one point, scoring at a rate of more than six runs per over, Hasnain was severely punished by both of these hitters. The hosts had already scored 105 runs by the end of the 15th, making the outcome seem inevitable.

But after the drinks break, a ferocious Rauf tore through the middle order, and everything changed. As he took Smith away, Shaheen could dispatch a furious Inglis. Batpro login and see all cricket highlights.

Rauf stunned the home team with a spectacular reversal, taking two wickets in two balls to dismiss Glenn Maxwell and Marnus Labuschagne. The game was altered by three wickets in five deliveries for no runs, leaving Australia to rely on players like Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, and Cummins to do the job. When Hardie fell with 49 remaining, Pakistan’s hopes were raised, but Cummins quickly gained confidence by hitting his first ball for a boundary.

The captain soon brought down the target and held the Pakistani pacers at bay. Cummins found the boundary twice from a Rauf over to bring Australia closer and eventually over the line, despite Abbott being run out with 19 needed.

Mitchell Starc gave Australia a great start earlier in the day by scoring in less than two overs. Abdullah Shafique didn’t last long either, as debutant Saim Ayub inside-edged one onto his stumps.

Babar Azam was batting on a different pitch, but new captain Muhammad Rizwan had a difficult time. Babar, who is expected to perform well in Test matches, seemed comfortable here, hitting some magnificent boundaries.

Adam Zampa entered the fray and instantly castled Babar when it seemed like these two would continue and save Pakistan. Then, with Pakistan in serious difficulty at 70 for 4, Cummins devised a snorter to eliminate Kamran Ghulam.

Australia continued to peg back at frequent intervals despite Rizwan’s redemption, as he was batting on seven off 25 at one point. Before players like Irfan Khan and Shaheen contributed with crucial runs, things could have quickly gone south at 117 for 6. Then, in a thrilling cameo nearly good enough to steal a victory, Naseem took over at the end and cleared the ropes four times.

Short scores: Australia defeated Pakistan 204/8 in 33.3 overs (Josh Inglis 49, Steve Smith 44, Haris Rauf 3/67) by two wickets after Pakistan scored 203 in 46.4 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 44, Naseem Shah 40; Mitchell Starc 3/33, Pat Cummins 2/39).

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