Mitchell Starc vs Pakistan: Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has provided the hosts with a brilliant start, as the Pakistan opening duo of Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub is back in the hut.
Pat Cummins had won the coins and elected to bowl first. Coming in to bat, Pakistan openers had the task of seeing out the danger of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, as Australia have come into this fixture with four seamers.
The match started-off with a maiden over, followed by a 3-run over. On the fourth ball of the third over, Mitchell Starc pitched the ball on the good length, a bit outside-off, which was terribly misjudged by Saim Ayub, who managed to get an inside edge, on to the stumps.
Abdullah Shafique joined his compatriot four overs later, as Mitchell Starc’s bouncer deceived him, and the faintest of edges led to the right-handed batsman’s dismissal, who was caught behind by Josh Inglis.
Watch Saim Ayub's dismissal here:
Mitchell Starc Ends His Spell With 3 Maiden Overs
It was a brilliant outing for Mitchell Starc with the ball, as he finishes his 10 overs-quota with the figures of 3/33, that included 3 maiden overs. His wickets included the key dismissals of Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, followed by a dangerous-looking Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was dismissed on 24.
The powerplay spell of the left-arm pacer recorded the figures of 2/11 in 5 overs, with 2 wickets, which was followed by few overs during the mid-phase of the first innings.
The two-time ODI World Cup winner finished his spell in the 37th over, where he scalped his third and final wicket of the afternoon, and conceded only 3 boundaries throughout the match.
Whenever Mitchell Starc picks up wickets, Australia tend to perform well and win the match.
Therefore, Pakistan need a miracle to avoid an embarrassing defeat at Melbourne Cricket Ground.