At the MCG, David Warner and Usman Khawaja performed admirably to offset Pakistan’s early advantage of winning the toss and choosing to bowl with ominous overheads. During the morning session, the duo appeared to be taking Australia to the first break of the day without any problems, but off-spinner Agha Salman foiled their intentions. Rather, they lumbered out to lunch at ninety-nine cents.
Pakistan came to Melbourne intending to defeat Australia in their backyard and to play aggressive cricket. They made the correct initial move by winning the toss, since Pat Cummins also stated that he would have chosen to bowl first.
Pakistan selected four pacers for their team, taking into account the weather forecast and the anticipated dismal conditions. When Shaheen Afridi got one ball to angle in and pulled away just enough to square up Warner and induce an outside edge, they were dangerously close to taking an early lead. Abdullah Shafique was the first to receive the ball, which left his hands and fell to the ground. Even worse for Pakistan, the rain quickly cleared to provide brilliant sunshine and comfort for the two left-handers, who started to play more expansive shots and take more chances during the post-drinks phase of the match.
By batting wide outside the crease and negotiating skillfully, especially with Pakistan’s Afridi’s new-ball partner Mir Hamza, Warner sought to eliminate any swing and seam movement. Afridi continued to bowl full until late in the session in an attempt to create movement, but Khawaja produced the morning’s best shot, a magnificent straight drive for four.
After refreshments, the Australian openers displayed fluency as they amassed 56 runs in 13 overs, after only scoring 34 in the first 14. They were all ready to cruise to Lunch unscathed until Salman tricked Warner into a bad shot that resulted in the left-hander’s expulsion. Warner nicked a flighted delivery after he idly went after it, going against the flow of play. This time, Babar Azam completed the catch, therefore there was no error at slip.
Brief Scores:Australia 90/1 (David Warner 38, Usman Khawaja 36*; Agha Salman 1-2) vs Pakistan