Key events
34th over: Australia 147-9 (Zampa 5, Hazlewood 0) DROP! DROP! REVIEW! SIX! Rizwan has six catches to his name but even after making up plenty of ground to get to a skied ball off Zampa he grasses a simple catch. His gloves are all over the place by the time the ball arrives and the Pakistan skipper misses the chance to become the first keeper to take seven catches in an ODI. Zampa is dropped again when Shaheen races around the boundary to get to a lofty pull shot but, just as he did earlier in the innings, then spills the ball into the rope. Pakistan appeal for another caught behind as Zampa encourages Rizwan to use their review, which he kindly does without a hint of success. The Australia spinner then blasts just his second six in his 105th ODI as he hoicks Naseem over the rope.
That over might’ve been worth the price of admission – or perhaps just a streaming subscription – all on its own.
33rd over: Australia 147-9 (Zampa 5, Hazlewood 0) Zampa turns the strike over immediately with a nudge to square leg then Hazlewood holds out Shaheen without threatening to add to the scoring.
32nd over: Australia 146-9 (Zampa 4, Hazlewood 0) Cummins is unable to lead the fightback this time as Rauf gets the better of the Australian captain and claims his second five-wicket haul in ODIs. The 31-year-old almost has a sixth scalp with a deadly yorker to Hazlewood but the No 11 digs it out.
WICKET! Cummins c Rizwan b Rauf 13 (Australia 146-9)
Rauf and Rizwan strike again as Cummins blazes away at a shorter ball but can only get a feather touch as it sails past. The Australia skipper sends the decision up stairs for a review but it doesn’t take long to confirm there is a spike. Rauf has his five-for and Rizwan becomes just the second Pakistan keeper to collect six catches in an ODI.
31st over: Australia 145-8 (Cummins 13, Zampa 3) SIX! Cummins smacks Naseem back over his head with a monster shot that clears the fence. The Australia skipper tries much the same from the next ball but can’t time it as sweetly and has to settle for two runs after a lengthy review decides the ball was just kept in play – that looked like a clear boundary to me! The over started with an early shout for lbw as Zampa has a swing and a miss but the ball was tracking down leg.
30th over: Australia 132-8 (Cummins 2, Zampa 2) Rauf is steaming in as the pacer chases just a second five-wicket haul in his 39th ODI. Zampa scrambles to the safety of the non-striker’s end with a glance for one as Cummins then sees Australia through to drinks and an opportunity to reset.
29th over: Australia 131-8 (Cummins 2, Zampa 1) Naseem joins the party with a much-deserved first wicket as Starc edges behind, then almost has two in as many balls as Adam Zampa gets an inside edge to very nearly take out his own stumps. Somehow the ball crosses the front of the stumps and misses leg.
WICKET! Starc c Rizwan b Naseem 1 (Australia 130-8)
Naseem gets his reward and Rizwan has his own five-for from behind the stumps. Starc drives at a delivery that pitches back of a length and angles away. A thick edge lands in Rizwan’s gloves and the Pakistan quick is ecstatic.
28th over: Australia 130-7 (Cummins 2, Starc 1) Rauf gets Pakistan into Australia’s bowlers within 30 overs with the crucial wicket of Maxwell. The tourists are on top and Australia need their captain to drag them to safety, ideally with a little help from the ever-dangerous Starc, once again.
WICKET! Maxwell b Rauf 16 (Australia 129-7)
Maxwell chops on and once again Rauf is the destroyer. The delivery heads outside off but Maxwell wants to drag it back across his body to the on side. An inside edge instead sends it crashing into his stumps. Maxwell’s head goes back in disbelief but there is no doubt we’re seeing a special spell from Rauf.
27th over: Australia 126-6 (Maxwell 14, Cummins 1) Cummins is almost gone before he gets going as Naseem moves the ball narrowly away from both the outside edge and the off stump.
26th over: Australia 123-6 (Maxwell 13, Cummins 1) Rauf is once again the star of the show and has three for 23 from five overs. Australia will be happy to see the back of him, but the Pakistan quick has enough overs left to perhaps still rip through the hosts.
WICKET! Hardie c Rizwan b Rauf 14 (Australia 121-6)
Rauf has his tail up and starts wide of the bowling crease to angle a quicker ball into Hardie. The Australian plays with a straight bat and didn’t do much wrong, but a touch of movement off the seam catches an edge and Rizwan has his fourth catch of the innings.
25th over: Australia 120-5 (Hardie 13, Maxwell 11) Naseem Shah returns to the attack and gives the Australians little room to move. Hardie finds a single at square leg and Maxwell adds another with a tip and run just wide of the bowler.
24th over: Australia 118-5 (Hardie 12, Maxwell 10) SIX! Maxwell pulls out a reverse sweep and thunders the ball over what was once deep point. Ayub only pitched that fractionally full but the Australian made him pay full price.
23rd over: Australia 111-5 (Hardie 11, Maxwell 4) Hasnain is pitching the ball back of a length, keeping the Australians playing with caution. Maxwell looks the most comfortable already, finding two runs at backward point but is fortunate not to get more on a swipe to deep square leg that falls short of the fielder.
22nd over: Australia 106-5 (Hardie 10, Maxwell 1) Saim Ayub keeps the pressure on Australia until Hardie finds three runs with a nudge to fine leg. Maxwell smacks his first look at the youngster away to deep cover, and how the Australian powerhouse handles the spinner from here will go a long way to determining the target set for Pakistan.
21st over: Australia 101-5 (Hardie 6, Maxwell 0) Pakistan are right into the middle order now with Smith back in the sheds. Smith’s innings is over after looking comfortable using the bounce to cut away for a boundary that brought up Australia’s 100, surviving a lbw review, and then nicking off from much the same cut shot a second time around. The No 3 was almost out one ball earlier when smacked on the pads as Hasnain cut a delivery back across the batter, only for the review to go with the umpire’s call when the ball was on line to tickle the top of leg.
WICKET! Smith c Rizwan b Hasnain 35 (Australia 101-5)
Smith barely survives an lbw review and is out next ball flashing at a wide ball from the Pakistan quick. There was barely any footwork from the Australian and a thick edge flies through to the keeper.
20th over: Australia 95-4 (Smith 30, Hardie 3) Pakistan turn to spin for the first time in the innings – and in the series – as Saim Ayub is thrown the ball. Ayub beats Hardie’s outside edge with a leg-spinner early in the over before Australia pick up a couple of easy singles. A tidy first ODI over from the 22-year-old in his second international in the format.
19th over: Australia 93-4 (Smith 29, Hardie 3) Pakistan continue with the four-pronged pace attack as Hasnain is back with ball in hand. Smith can’t find a way past the quick as a superb drive goes too straight and thunders into Hasnain hands as he tumbles over in his follow through.
18th over: Australia 92-4 (Smith 29, Hardie 3) Hardie is making a sensibly watchful start to his innings, with measured stroke play and compact defence.
17th over: Australia 88-4 (Smith 27, Hardie 1) A maiden from Shaheen as Australia enter preservation mode. The runs are flowing freely enough, but just like in the first ODI, the regular trickle of wickets remains the concern.
16th over: Australia 88-4 (Smith 27, Hardie 1) Rauf puts Pakistan back on top with the scalp of Labuschagne in the first over after drinks.
WICKET! Labuschagne c Rizwan b Rauf 6 (Australia 87-4)
Haris Rauf strikes again with a beauty and the Pakistan pacer is fired up! The ball pitches back of a length and seams away late from Labuschagne who can’t help but hang a straight bat out at it. A slight nick carries through to Rizwan and three screams and a fist pump show what it means to Rauf.
15th over: Australia 85-3 (Smith 27, Labuschagne 4) Pakistan go for the jugular with Shaheen back into the attack. But the left-armer barely troubles the Australian pair as they use the angle of the ball coming from around the wicket to pick up easy ones and twos. That’s drinks and it’s fair to say we are evenly poised!
14th over: Australia 81-3 (Smith 27, Labuschagne 1) Rauf sparked a batting collapse on Monday night and has breathed fresh life into this clash with the crucial wicket of the in-form Inglis. The Pakistan quick is putting everything into each delivery and hits the deck a couple of times on the follow through, and must be frustrated to have to do it all again – not once but twice – after a couple of harsh calls for wides barely on the leg side.
WICKET! Inglis c Rizwan b Rauf 18 (Australia 79-3)
Haris Rauf gets a critical breakthrough – again – with a delivery that drifts down the leg-side. Inglis pulls late but there are two noises, one off the thigh pad and another off the bat, on the way through to Rizwan diving forward and to his left to glove a neat catch.
13th over: Australia 78-2 (Smith 26, Inglis 18) SIX! Smith immediately makes Pakistan pay for grassing a catch in the previous over as he swivels on his toes and swats Hasnain over backward point and into the stands. The Australian has taken his time to get in but is now showing signs that he’s ready to unleash.
12th over: Australia 70-2 (Smith 19, Inglis 17) DROPPED! Smith flashes away with a drive that takes a thick outside edge and sails straight to Ayub at point, the Pakistan fielder leaping to get hands to the ball but barely slowing it down as it races away to the boundary. Haris Rauf turned the match on Monday night and almost had an immediate impact in Adelaide.
11th over: Australia 61-2 (Smith 13, Inglis 15) Hasnain is showing a bit here as his pace not so much worries Smith and Inglis as limits their stroke play. Both batters find a single off their pads to keep the strike ticking over.
10th over: Australia 59-2 (Smith 12, Inglis 14) You could hardly have found a more elegant stroke than Smith’s to end the previous over, or a more absurd shot that Inglis start this one with. The Australia keeper steps out early to telegraph a ramp shot as Naseem follows his with the ball outside off. Inglis sends the ball flying high and barely over Rizwan behind the stumps but it was an unnecessary risk under the circumstances especially considering it only garnered two runs. A punch through point is a classier stroke and picks up four without any danger.
9th over: Australia 52-2 (Smith 12, Inglis 7) Smith guides a wide ball from Mohammad Hasnain through point to the boundary after the Pakistan speedster had him on the ropes. The Australia No 3 is still to find his timing this afternoon but that’s fifty up for the world champions.
8th over: Australia 47-2 (Smith 8, Inglis 6) Tidy over from Naseem as a tight line restricts Australia to a single from it when Inglis nudges a straight ball through mid-off.
7th over: Australia 46-2 (Smith 8, Inglis 5) Australia’s openers are back in the pavilion early – again – but Pakistan will be hoping to press home their advantage better than they did at the MCG when Smith and Inglis put on 85 from 75 balls in what proved to be a pivotal partnership. Inglis picks up where he left off on Monday, with a stylish drive past point to get off the mark with a boundary.
WICKET! Short c Babar b Shaheen 19 (Australia 41-2)
Shaheen gets his revenge. Short cuts at a ball that came back into him and slices a thick edge straight to Babar Azam at cover. The Australia opener can’t make the most of his second chance.
6th over: Australia 41-1 (Short 19, Smith 8) Smith finally gets on strike and isn’t giving it up again easily as he prods away. A far too wide ball from Naseem releases the pressure as Smith gets off the mark with a boundary through point. The Australian makes it back-to-back boundaries to complete the over with a sublime drive past extra cover.
5th over: Australia 32-1 (Short 19, Smith 0) Short punishes Shaheen again with a pull over midwicket that sails to the boundary from the first ball, then takes few risks with his second life. Shaheen mixes it up to finish with a slower ball but Short picks it early enough. Smith has hardly seen the strike yet.
4th over: Australia 26-1 (Short 13, Smith 0) Short survives after Shaheen drops a sitter and knuckles down to see out the over from Naseem. Mohammad Rizwan has his gloves in the air appealing for caught behind off the last ball of the innings but even his teammates have little interest in backing up their skipper this time.
DROPPED! Shaheen undoes much of his good work in the previous over as Short hooks a shorter ball from Naseem but hits it straight to the Pakistan fielder at deep square-leg. Shaheen gets himself into a good position quickly enough but is still moving when the ball arrives and grasses the catch. Adding insult to injury, it trickles into the boundary.
3rd over: Australia 21-1 (Short 8, Smith 0) Shaheen gets the breakthrough and there can be no argument that Fraser-McGurk was refusing to play the ball on its merits. But the opener has missed another opportunity to make the most of a fast start and a good wicket.
WICKET! Fraser-McGurk lbw b Shaheen 13 (Australia 13-1)
The Pakistan left-armer stops the attacking Australia opener in his tracks, bowling around the wicket and shaping the ball back into Fraser-McGurk. The ball pitched around leg stump and then straightened up as Fraser-McGurk played around it.
2nd over: Australia 20-0 (Short 7, Fraser-McGurk 13) Fraser-McGurk lets fly with a trio of near-perfect shots through the off side for three boundaries. The first is a cut shot that turns into a punch through cover, the next two more classic drives as the opener punishes anything wide from Naseem Shah.
1st over: Australia 8-0 (Short 7, Fraser-McGurk 1) Shaheen Shah Afridi pitches the first delivery right up in the blockhole but Matt Short punches it out for three past mid-off. He finishes the over with the first boundary of the day from a mis-timed pull past the square-leg umpire. Jake Fraser-McGurk talked up his intention to attack from the get-go, but he sees off Shaheen with caution.
The national anthems ring out, 13 players and a pair of umpires make their way onto the field, and the resident DJ pumps up the volume. Shaheen Shah Afridi has the cherry in his hand and Matt Short is on strike, as Pakistan look to beat Australia for just the third time in their past 15 ODIs to stay alive in the three-match series.
For those already casting a subtle eye towards the mouthwatering Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India that starts in Perth on 22 November, Australia Test discard Marcus Harris is staking his claim for a recall in the race to replace Warner (and Smith).
The 32-year-old has just reached a half-century in the tour match against India A at the MCG in what, as Jack Snape so eloquently explains, is perhaps the most pivotal innings of Harris’s “good, but never quite good enough” career so far.
Teams
Australia make the one change from the first ODI XI with Josh Hazlewood replacing Sean Abbott. Pat Cummins lines up for the last time in the series before sitting out the third and final match on Sunday.
Pakistan are unchanged as Naseem is named despite being forced from the field at the MCG. It was later confirmed that the quick was suffering from cramp on Monday rather than an injury concern.
Australia XI: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steven Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain
Pakistan win the toss and choose to field
Mohammad Rizwan wins the coin flip and sends Australia in to bat at a sunny Adelaide Oval.
We’d perhaps like to think we live in simpler times, at least on the cricket field, and this tale from the West Indian rebel tour to South Africa in 1983 points to a troubled period that should not be forgotten.
The rebels had planned to depart from Barbados in total secrecy, but their cover was blown in spectacular fashion by the Guyanese cricket commentator and journalist Joseph “Reds” Perreira, who lifted the lid on the enterprise after receiving a tip-off from a senior figure in the West Indies game.
Australia were racing towards their 204-run target in the first ODI and only needed another 71 with eight wickets and more than 34 overs up their sleeve when Pakistan quick Haris Rauf dismissed Steve Smith for 44. The wheels quickly fell off the Australia innings from there, at least until Pat Cummins took command with the willow in his first ODI since lifting the Cricket World Cup trophy last year.
Pakistan will surely be better for the run after their entire XI played their first ODI since the same 50-over showpiece event in India. While the first aim today will be to level the three-match series and set up a decider in Perth, Mohammad Rizwan’s are also building towards hosting the ICC’s next 50-over event – the Champions Trophy – in February and March.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to the second ODI between Australia and Pakistan at Adelaide Oval.
Australia have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series but the first 50-over clash at the MCG hardly went all their way as captain Pat Cummins was again called on to steer his side home with the bat.
Cummins arrived at the crease with Australia needing 49 runs to reach their modest 204-run target but with only three wickets in hand as Pakistan quick Haris Rauf ripped through the middle order with a fiery spell. Then, as we’ve almost come to expect from the ice-cool Cummins, Australia’s chasemaster played a typically composed knock for an unbeaten 32 from 31 balls to reach the mark for the loss of only one more wicket.
Pakistan can take hope from the pace of Rauf (3/67), Shaheen Shah Afridi (2/43) and Naseem Shah (1/39) shaking up Australia’s chase though they will likely want to pitch the ball up more in Adelaide than they did in Melbourne. Both sides will be looking for more from their top order this time and it remains to be seen whether Australia’s young openers Jake Fraser-McGurk (16) and Matt Short (1) are immediately on the front foot again, after coming under fire for their short-lived all-out attack in the first ODI.
First ball is at 14:00 ACDT / 14:30 AEDT. I’ll be back shortly with the line-ups and toss news, and then with you until the innings break when Angus Fontaine will take the reins.
Remember to get in touch with any comments, questions, thoughts and predictions. You can find me on X @martinpegan or shoot me an email. Let’s get into it!
