Pakistan win toss, opt to bowl first in crucial second ODI against Australia

ADELAIDE: Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first against Australia in the second ODI of the three-match series at Adelaide Oval on Friday.

Earlier on Monday, Australia beat Pakistan by two wickets in a nail-biting fixture in the first ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Chasing a modest 204-run target set out by the Green Shirts, the Kangaroos had to fight their way against the Pakistani bowling unit to secure a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

The hosts had a shaky start to the pursuit as their openers Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short perished inside four overs with just 28 runs on the board.

But, a solid 85-run partnership between Steve Smith and Josh Inglis put Australia in a dominant position.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.

Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.