Last Updated:
Australia recovered from a batting collapse to eke out a two-wicket win against Pakistan in first ODI on Monday.
Shaheen Afridi (right) celebrates after dismissing Matt Short. (AP Photo)
Australia have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan that got underway from Monday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Chasing a target of 204, the Aussies recorded a two-wicket win. While the world champions may have won, their performance has not gone down well with Ian Healy.
The former wicketkeeper-batter felt that Australia needed “a lot” to learn.
“We have got a lot to learn,” Healy said on SENQ.
The fact that Australia required a little over 33 overs to win the game did not impress Healy much. “We are gearing up for a Champions Trophy, so there aren’t many trials before a team has to be selected. We should be playing these games properly but they are treating it like a schoolyard. It wasn’t good enough. We won but just and with 17 overs to spare,” he said.
Healy also expressed his displeasure over Australia’s batting in the series opener and felt that the team’s shot selection was “poor”.
“Our shot selection was poor and to me, Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk were playing like schoolyard bullies. The disregard for the conditions wasn’t good enough. The (Australian) bowlers and Mitch Starc said during the innings break that the pitch was two-paced and uneven in bounce. So what do we do? We think we can go out and slog the Pakistani bowlers all over the place,” Healy said.
“The batters didn’t learn anything from what the bowlers had told them, they didn’t regard the opposition enough. When the Pakistan bowlers got on a roll, they were hard to suppress. The Australian boys’ egos weren’t able to be put away for even half an hour. Inglis and Smith did it and then Pat Cummins had to do it,” he added.
Batting first, Pakistan struggled to 203-all out.
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan emerged as the highest scorer for his side in the game, scoring 44 off 71. Naseem Shah also chipped in with a vital contribution of 40 runs off 39 balls.
Mitchell Starc was Australia’s star performer as he scalped three wickets conceding 33 runs in his 10 over. Australia did not enjoy a solid start to their run chase, losing both their opening batters – Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk- in the first four overs.
Later, Steven Smith and wicketkeeper Josh Inglis produced a solid effort to help the hosts get the win. Smith scored 44 runs while Inglis missed out on his half century by just one run.
Australia, eventually, claimed a win with 99 balls to spare. The second ODI between Australia and Pakistan is scheduled to be played on Friday.
