Pakistani batting failed in front of Starc
Pakistan batted first but had to struggle against Australia's fast bowlers on the fast and bouncy pitch of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The pair of Abdullah Shafiq and Sam Ayub, who entered the ODIs after the Test, flopped here too. Ayub, who was making his ODI debut, was bowled by Mitchell Starc in the very first over. Starc also dismissed Shafiq in the next over. Babar Azam, who returned to the ODI series after being out of the Test team, hit some good shots as soon as he came, but then got bowled by the leg spinner and was bowled by Adam Zampa.
Young fast bowler showed the power of his bat
Pakistan's new captain Mohammad Rizwan controlled the innings by staying at the crease for a long time, but he too was out after scoring 44 runs. Pakistan lost 7 wickets for just 117 runs. It was here that Naseem Shah improved the team's position with batting. The young fast bowler showed the power of his bat and scored 40 runs and took the team to 203 runs, due to which the team remained in the match. While debutant Irfan Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi also played short but useful innings. For Australia, Starc took 3 wickets and captain Pat Cummins took 2 wickets.
Australia won even after losing 8 wickets
Australia also did not have a good start and by the fourth over both its openers Matthew Short and Jack Fraser-McGurk had returned to the pavilion. At such a time, star batsman Steve Smith and wicketkeeper Josh English handled the innings. Both of them together attacked the Pakistani fast bowlers and scored runs quickly. There was a partnership of 85 runs between the two, which laid the foundation for Australia's victory.
Captain Pat Cummins led the team to victory
The Australian team was looking strong till this time, but suddenly Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi destroyed the Australian middle order including Smith-Inglis. Within a short time, Australia's score reached 155 runs for 7 wickets. From here, captain Pat Cummins took command and then along with Mitchell Starc led the team to victory. Cummins returned unbeaten after scoring 33 runs.