MELBOURNE: Australia on Monday won the toss and put Pakistan to bat first in the first ODI with the series opener being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Led by skipper Mohammad Rizwan — who was appointed as Men in Green’s white-ball captain after Babar Azam stepped down from said post — Pakistan are playing their first ODI since their 93-run loss against England in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
The national side had a dismal run at the mega event and failed to qualify for the semi-final.
Australia, on the contrary, are fresh from their 3-2 away series victory over England.
Both countries have come face to face 108 times in ODIs with the five-time World Cup winners boasting a dominant record with 70 victories, compared to the Green Shirts’ 34.
The Kangaroos have an equally impressive record at home in ODIs as they won 37 out of 56 fixtures, while Pakistan secured 17 victories.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.
Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.
