Australia secure thrilling 2-wicket victory over Pakistan

Australia edged past Pakistan with a tense 2-wicket victory in the opening ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.

Chasing a 204-run target, Australia slipped to 139 for six before captain Pat Cummins steered the side home with an unbeaten 32 off 31 balls.

Earlier, Pakistan lost their openers cheaply with Mitchell Starc taking both the wickets. Babar Azam (37) and newly-appointed captain Mohammed Rizwan (44) looked good but threw away their starts.

Some handy contributions down the order from Naseem Shah (40) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (24) helped Pakistan cross the 200-run mark.

For Australia, Mitchell Starc (3/33) was the wrecker-in-chief. Pat Cummins (2/39) and Adam Zampa (2/64) chipped away with two wickets each.