Captain Cummins to rescue: Aussies get nervy win over Pak

Captain Pat Cummins has saved Australia with the bat once again as his side held off a rampant Pakistan pace attack to open the men's international summer with a thrilling two-wicket win.

Express quick Haris Rauf stunned Australia's middle order at his adopted home Down Under with two wickets in as many balls to turn what seemed a comfortable chase into a tense finale.

Australia appeared to be cruising in pursuit of Pakistan's 203 all out despite the loss of openers Matt Short (1) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (16) early as Steve Smith and Josh Inglis put on 85 for the third wicket in quick time.

But Melbourne Stars favourite Rauf's rapid spell changed the complexion of the match in the 21st over, blasting out Marnus Labuschagne (16) and Glenn Maxwell with his 146kph rockets in consecutive deliveries as Australia lost 3-0 in just five balls.

Pakistan themselves had their own middle order struggles as they slumped to 6-117 before tailender Naseem Shah gave their total a much-needed boost, hitting four of their six sixes in his 39-ball 40 as the last four wickets added 86 runs.

Australia used eight bowlers to restrict the visitors after Cummins opted to bowl first, whereas Pakistan tried to blast the hosts out with half that number as their four quicks did the damage under lights.

Rauf bounced back from conceding 18 runs off his opening two overs with three wickets later in his opening spell, bringing a sizable Pakistan contingent in the 25,831 crowd to life as he reduced Australia to 6-139.

"In the back of my mind I knew I had a chance to take a hat-trick again on this ground," said Rauf post-match, in reference to his first ever Big Bash match at the MCG in January 2020 when he took three wickets in three balls against Sydney Thunder.

"I love the MCG … a lot of memories at this ground so I enjoy (playing here)."

But Cummins, so often Australia's lower-order saviour, delivered again with a composed unbeaten 32 from 31 balls to see his side home with two wickets to spare.

Billed as another bat-off to determine who partners Travis Head at next year's ICC Champions Trophy, Fraser-McGurk landed an early blow by hoicking Naseem over midwicket in a 14-run second over.

But neither he nor Short (1) could capitalise in their first time batting in national colours in their hometown of Melbourne as Australia started shakily.

Short sliced an attempted heave to the leg side and was caught at short third before Naseem got his revenge as Fraser-McGurk chipped a catch to mid-on.

Smith (44) and Inglis steadied to put Australia back on track until Rauf broke through.

The right-arm speedster removed Smith when he picked out point before Inglis perished one short of a half-century a ball after receiving a fortunate six when debutant Irfan Khan tread on the rope trying to save a six.

Rauf's pace then proved too hot for Labuschagne whose edge flew to deep third while Maxwell was caught on the crease first ball as he feathered an edge through to Pakistan wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan.

Allrounders Hardie (10) and Sean Abbott (13) contributions proved handy in stabilising the chase, but it was Cummins who iced the game with a boundary and a single off Mohammad Hasnain in the 34th over. It reprised memories of last year's ODI World Cup semi-final in Kolkata when he and Mitchell Starc also got Australia over the line in a low-scoring match against South Africa with an unbeaten 22-run partnership.

Player-of-the-match Starc (2no) was there at the end again on Monday night, but it was his and Cummins' (2-39) efforts earlier in the day that helped put the brakes on Pakistan. The left-armer removed both openers in his 3-33 from 10 overs, with Australia's eighth bowler used – Labuschagne – capturing the prized scalp of Pakistan captain Rizwan for an innings-high 44 runs.

Starc's first wicket of Saim Ayub saw him reach 100 ODI wickets in Australia quicker than any bowler, breaking Brett Lee's long-standing record. His 100th wicket in Australia came in his 54th match, going one better than Lee's 55.

Star leg-spinner Adam Zampa (2-64) also took multiple wickets, but went for 18 runs in his 10th over after Naseem took the long handle. The two sides now head to Adelaide for the second ODI on Friday.

Australia v Pakistan limited-overs series 2024

Australia ODI squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Pakistan ODI squad: Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi

November 4: Australia won by two wickets

November 8: Adelaide Oval, 2.30pm AEDT

November 10: Perth Stadium, 2.30pm AEDT

Australia T20 squad: Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Pakistan T20 squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.

November 14: Gabba, 7.00pm AEDT

November 16: SCG: 7.00pm AEDT

November 18: Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 7.00pm AEDT

All matches live and exclusive on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports