Opening batter Travis Head and wristspinner Adam Zampa proved to be the stand-out performers in Australia’s complete domination in the first ODI of the series against Pakistan in Lahore this March 29. The visitors, who won the historic Test series 1-0, continued their successful trip to Pakistan with an 88-run victory.
Asked to open the innings in the absence of David Warner, Head blasted the Pakistan bowling attack from the get-go and finished with an excellent hundred. The left-hander played the role of a top-order aggressor quite brilliantly to put Pakistan under huge pressure.
On a dryish surface that was bound to slow down as the innings went deeper, Head’s 72-ball 101 was a tremendous effort and gave Australia all the momentum and foundation to a big score.
Either side of Head, only No.3 Ben McDermott (55) and allrounder Cameron Green (40*) could claim to have completely gotten the grip of the surface in the Aussie ranks. Head’s fellow opener and skipper Aaron Finch (23) and middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne (25) got the starts as well but couldn’t carry on as he did.
Head was looking good for so much more, but his innings was cut short by off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed (1/36). Pakistan needed to restore calm to the proceedings after Head’s eye-catching, and that was provided by their first-change seamer Haris Rauf, who picked up two for 44 off his 10 overs on a flat pitch. Debutant wristspinner Zahid Mahmood (2/59) also bagged two wickets at the start of his career.
Yet, for all of Rauf’s brilliance, Pakistan did miss spearhead Shaheen Afridi a lot after their new-ball pairing of Hasan Ali (0/56) and ODI debutant Mohammad Wasim Jr (0/59) was smashed to all corners by Head & company.
In complete contrast, Australia’s understrength fast-bowling unit showcased so much greater discipline and consistency with the ball. Sean Abbott (1/36), debutant Nathan Ellis (1/36), Cameron Green (0/18) and Marcus Stoinis (0/9) all maintained a leash on run-scoring even as Pakistan looked well-placed at one stage with a score of 120 for one.
But it was the spin duo of Zampa and debutant Mitchell Swepson that really tilted the scales in Australia’s favour. Zampa, one of the most improved white-ball cricketers in the world, bagged a four-fer (4/38), while Swepson, too, delivered the goods and finished with two for 53 on the night.
Sustained pressure from pacers and spinners alike meant that Pakistan were forced to take risks for scoring in their quest to chase down the massive 314. In-form opening batter Imam-ul-Haq was their star performer with the bat, hitting 103 off 96 deliveries to replicate some of Head’s brilliance for his team. Imam continued his excellent form for the Australian home series, having struck two centuries in the preceding Test leg of the Aussie visit.
At the other end, skipper and modern-day batting giant Babar Azam produced a fine half-century (53 off 72) to keep Pakistan in the hunt along with Imam. Their 96-run stand for the second wicket lifted the Pakistani spirits and gave them reasons to believe.
Just then, however, Babar lost his wicket to Swepson, which kicked off a disappointing collapse as the hosts suffered regular blows on their way to 225 all out from 120/1. Pakistan missed out on sufficient contributions in the batting unit, with no one outside Imam and Babar reaching the 20-run mark.
Australia finished as deserving winners on the night and also bagged 10 crucial points in the ICC Super League.
Brief scores
Australia 313/7 in 50 overs (Head 101, McDermott 55; Rauf 2/44) beat Pakistan 225/10 in 45.2 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 103, Azam 57; Zampa 4/38) by 88 runs
