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

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.

However, despite Haris Rauf’s three wickets and two that of Shaheen Afridi, Australian skipper Pat Cummins (32*) dug in to help his side across the line.