225/10 (45.2)
CR : 4.96
313/7 (50.0)
CR : 6.26
Australia won by 88 runs
Player of the Match
Travis Head
2/35101(72)
H Rauf 7(17)
c T Head b M Swepson
4s/6s
1/0
SR
41.18
AUS won by 88 runs
Arya: This is a comprehensive victory for Australia by 88 runs as they take a 1-0 lead in the 3 match series. Right from the word go, everything went in their favour and barring a good bowling performance by Pakistan in the middle overs, it was Australia all the way. Babar Azam and Imam-ul Haq batted well in the run-chase but the pace at which both of them scored put a lot of pressure on the batters coming on later and eventually it was a mountain too steep to climb for them.
Arya: The run-chase was never going to be an easy one for Pakistan. However with the dew slated to set in later in the day, it would have been a difficult task for the Australian bowlers to contain the Pakistan batters. Imam and Fakhar Zaman started fluently and raced off to 24 in the 5th over before the dismissal of Fakhar. It was Babar Azam who joined Imam and batted sensibly to move the scoreboard.
Despite batting very well, both batted in a similar pace which never really allowed Pakistan to run away with the game. Despite not taking a wicket, Australia was in control of the game courtesy the scoring rate and in the end, the rate got too big on them. The duo shared a 96 runs stand for the 2nd wicket but it came in almost 20 overs which was perhaps the difference between the two sides.
Imam-ul-Haq kept fighting hard and went onto reach a well-deserved century in 91 deliveries. He upped the ante against the spinners when the asking rate was climbing at a rapid pace. He did keep a pace of the required rate but his dismissal at the hands of Nathan Elis courtesy a sensational yorker was the end of Pakistan’s challenge. Adam Zampa then bagged three quick wickets which included wickets of back to back deliveries. In the end Pakistan fell well short by 88 runs. Zampa was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets while Swepson chipped in with a couple.
Arya: Earlier in the day it was the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam who won the toss and put the visitors in. Travis Head was promoted up the order after 2018 and he didn’t disappoint. He got off to a blazing start in the powerplay and started taking the Pakistan bowlers to the cleaners. Aaron Finch took his time to settle in as Head raced away to a 37 balls half-century. He made full use of the fielding restrictions and looked in complete control of proceedings.
It was debutant Zahid Mahmood who provided the maiden breakthrough in the form of Finch’s wicket. He bowled beautifully in the middle overs after getting a tap from Travis Head in the beginning. Ben McDermott joined Head in the middle and both batted sensibly and rotated the strike well. McDermott had a tough time to begin with but managed to settle down after the initial struggle.
Head was dismissed immediately after getting to his century as he chipped one straight to the wide long-off fielder. The Pakistan spin trio of Zahid Mahmood, Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah tightened the screws on the Australian batters and it was a good phase of play for Pakistan. It was a quickfire knock of 40 of 30 deliveries by Cameron Green towards the death overs which propelled Australia over the 300 mark. Eventually, it proved to be way too much as Australia won by 88 runs.
Adam Zampa- Boys played really well. The opening batters set the tone. It was a competitive total. We thought it will be tough to defend but we got the result in the end despite the dew in play. It is always tactical stuff. Some research on the opposition before we hush on the plans and try to remember that. Not a lot to be fair. It was staying low and skidding through. The ball got wet and it started to slow on. We bowled a bit slower to the tail-enders. Yeah it has been great, took us 24 years to get here. We will say we are having a great time. The cricket, the crowd is amazing. Travis has been out of the team for a while and to come back and get a hundred of 70 balls shows his character and I am stoked for him.
Travis Head, Player of the Match- Nice to get a look at the top and grab the opportunity. We knew with the dew coming in it will be tough to bowl at so scoring runs against the new ball was crucial. We put on a great total and then managed to defend that. Nice to play a role as a bowler. Nice to get when needed. Whenever the opportunity arises if I can contribute it will be great.
Babar Azam: We had decided to restrict them to a small total but they started off very well, we got back into the game towards the end of the innings. We wanted to restrict them under the 300 mark but unfortunately, that didn't happen. (On the chase) It's very hard when you lose back to back wickets, Imam played brilliantly and I got out at a very crucial juncture of the game. We will learn from the mistakes in this game and try to come back stronger in the next game.
Aaron Finch (Winning Captain): "Yeaah we felt that we needed that 300 mark after losing the toss. Travis got absolutely on the flier and he took the game away from them at the start. We needed the extra spinner. Not a huge amount of grass there so went with two spinners. It is very wet now and it was quite difficult in the end for us to grip the ball. But all and all great performance from the boys. Cheers."
That brings us to the end of our coverage for the opening ODI. Just a day in between for the 2nd ODI. Till then it's ta-ta and goodnight from me (Arya Sekhar Chakraborty) and my fellow commentators Ajay Ahire and Ovaise Shariff.