Australia beat Pakistan by 2 wickets in the first ODI at MCG in a thrilling contest. This match was played at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground, where Pat Cummins decided to bowl after winning the toss. This decision of the Aussie skipper proved to be an absolute masterstroke as Australian pacers wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up by dismissing four Pakistani batters on 70 runs in just 19 overs. But Pakistani lower-order steadied the ship and took their team to a respectable total of 203. Pakistan could have been bundled out on 170 to 180 if it were not for late fightbacks from Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shan Afridi. Came to chase a modest total of 204.
Australia didn’t get the start they were expecting as they lost their openers for just 28 runs. After that, Steve Smith and Josh Inglish took responsibility for their shoulders and took Australia 113 runs in 16.2 overs. But Smith was dismissed on the very next delivery, and after that, Australia faced a minor collapse as they were restricted to 113/3 to 155/7. Haris Rauf was the main man behind Australia’s this condition as he dismissed Smith and Labuschagne & Maxwell on back-to-back deliveries.
After Maxwell, skipper Cummins took the charge in his hands and played a calm and composed inning of 32* under a tight situation to take Australia across the finish line. Australia reached the required runs in 33.3 overs for the loss of eight wickets and won this match with two wickets in hand.
AUS vs PAK 1st ODI Match Scorecard, Melbourne, Nov 04, 2024
Pakistan Batting
| Batter | Runs | Balls | SR | 4s | 6s | |
| Abdullah Shafique | c Inglis b Starc | 12 | 26 | 46.15 | 1 | 0 |
| Saim Ayub | b Starc | 1 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Babar Azam | b Zampa | 37 | 44 | 84.09 | 4 | 0 |
| Mohammad Rizwan (c) | c Inglis b Labuschagne | 44 | 71 | 61.97 | 2 | 1 |
| Kamran Ghulam | c Inglis b Cummins | 5 | 6 | 83.33 | 1 | 0 |
| Salman Agha | c Short b Abbott | 12 | 29 | 41.37 | 1 | 0 |
| Irfan Khan | run out (Short/Maxwell) | 22 | 35 | 62.85 | 2 | 0 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | b Starc | 24 | 19 | 126.31 | 3 | 1 |
| Naseem Shah | c Starc b Cummins | 40 | 39 | 102.56 | 1 | 4 |
| Haris Rauf | b Zampa | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammad Hasnain | not out | 2 | 4 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | (nb 1, w 3) | 4 | ||||
| Total | 46.4 Ov (RR: 4.35) | 203 |
Australia Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets | ECON |
| Mitchell Starc | 10 | 33 | 3 | 3.3 |
| Pat Cummins | 9.4 | 39 | 2 | 4.03 |
| Sean Abbott | 8 | 34 | 1 | 4.25 |
| Aaron Hardie | 4 | 15 | 0 | 3.75 |
| Adam Zampa | 10 | 64 | 2 | 6.4 |
| Matthew Short | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 3 | 11 | 0 | 3.66 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
Australia Batting
| Batter | Runs | Balls | SR | 4s | 6s | |
| Matthew Short | c Saim Ayub b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 1 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Fraser-McGurk | c Irfan Khan b Naseem Shah | 16 | 14 | 114.28 | 1 | 0 |
| Steven Smith | c Saim Ayub b Haris Rauf | 44 | 46 | 95.65 | 6 | 0 |
| Josh Inglis | c Irfan Khan b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 49 | 42 | 116.66 | 4 | 3 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | c Irfan Khan b Haris Rauf | 16 | 13 | 123.07 | 2 | 0 |
| Aaron Hardie | b Mohammad Hasnain | 10 | 19 | 52.63 | 1 | 0 |
| Glenn Maxwell | c Mohammad Rizwan b Haris Rauf | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Abbott | run out (Agha Salman/Shaheen Shah Afridi) | 13 | 19 | 68.42 | 1 | 0 |
| Pat Cummins (c) | not out | 32 | 31 | 103.22 | 4 | 0 |
| Mitchell Starc | not out | 2 | 12 | 16.66 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | (lb 4, w 17) | 21 | ||||
| Total | 33.3 Ov (RR: 6.08) | 204/8 |
Pakistan Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wickets | ECON |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 10 | 43 | 2 | 4.3 |
| Naseem Shah | 7.2 | 39 | 1 | 5.31 |
| Mohammad Hasnain | 7.1 | 51 | 1 | 7.11 |
| Haris Rauf | 9 | 67 | 3 | 7.44 |
Man of the Match: AUS vs PAK 1st ODI
Mitchel Starc was chosen player of the match after his splendid match-winning bowling effort.
| Player | Team | Bowling Figure |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 3/33 |
Most Runs: AUS vs PAK 1st ODI, Melbourne, Nov 04, 2024
Josh Inglish was the leading scorer in the first One-Day International in Melbourne between Australia and Pakistan.
| Player | Team | Score |
| Josh Inglish | Australia | 49 (42) |
Most Wickets: AUS vs PAK 1st ODI, Melbourne, Nov 04, 2024
Mitchell Starc was the most prolific bowler in the Melbourne ODI between Australia and Pakistan.
| Player | Team | Figures |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 3/33 |
Most Sixes: AUS vs PAK 1st ODI, Melbourne, Nov 04, 2024
Pakistani pacer Naseem Shah stood ahead of other batsmen in the 1st ODI at Melbourne as he hit four sixes in his 40-run knock in this game.
| Player | Team | Sixes |
| Naseem Shah | Pakistan | 4 |
Playing XIs: AUS vs PAK 1st ODI, Melbourne, Nov 04, 2024
Australia Playing XI
Matthew Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglish, Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Mitchel Starc
Pakistan Playing XI
Abdullah Shafiq, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c), Kamran Ghulam, Salman Agha, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain
Also Read: Pakistan tour of Australia 2024
