Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of the first ODI between Pakistan and Australia, being held in Rawalpindi on Saturday.
PLAYING XI
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Babar Azam, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Salman Agha, Abdul Samad, Shadab Khan, Arafat Minhas, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Australia: Matthew Short, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis (wk) (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Oliver Peake, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Kuhnemann.
TOSS
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl.
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The first ODI between Pakistan and Australia will not be televised live in India on any TV channel. However, the match can be live-streamed on the Sports TV YouTube channel in India from 5 PM IST.
PREVIEW
Pakistan and Australia will lock horns in the first ODI of their three-match series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Pakistan had hosted the Aussies earlier this year for a T20I series, which the host swept 3-0. Pakistan also won the last ODI series it played against Australia, bagging the three-match series 2-1 in November 2024 down under.
The host will fancy its chances yet again as Australia has decided to field an understrength team for the series. The pace trio of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have been rested for workload management reasons, while Travis Head also misses out due to his recent involvement in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the series due to an ankle injury, and Josh Inglis will lead the tourists in the three matches. Cooper Connolly, who was initially not named in the squad, will replace Marsh for the last two ODIs.
Meanwhile, Pakistan, led by Shaheen Afridi, has at its disposal a full-strength side, which includes Babar Azam, who returns after being dropped for the ODIs in Bangladesh earlier this year. Pacer Naseem Shah and all-rounder Shadab Khan will also look to make the most of their comeback to the national team in the 50-over format.
Pakistan, which lost to Bangladesh 2-1 in its most recent ODI series, has axed veteran wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan. Ghazi Ghori, who has played just one ODI, has stepped in for Rizwan for this series.
THE SQUADS
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Babar Azam, Salman Agha, Abdul Samad, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Rohail Nazir, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Sufyan Moqim, Shamyl Hussain.
Australia: Matthew Short, Josh Inglis (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Liam Scott, Nathan Ellis, Riley Meredith, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Kuhnemann, Tanveer Sangha, Oliver Peake.
Published on May 30, 2026
