Pakistan begins their white ball series with a matchup against Australia. The first One-Day International takes place on November 4 at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground.
This series includes three ODIs and three T20 matches. Australia comes into this series after a thrilling 3-2 victory over England in September.
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The home side will also be looking ahead to the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests. Meanwhile, Pakistan has a new coach and a new captain. Jason Gillespie is in charge, while Mohammad Rizwan will lead the team on the field.
Australia’s squad is strong, with Pat Cummins as captain. The team features top players like Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. However, they will miss Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head, who are on paternity leave.
Here’s all you need to know about the ODI records and pitch report of the venue, ahead of series.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground has hosted 160 ODI matches so far. The team batting first have won 78 times, while the team batting second have won 77 times. There have been 5 ties/no result at this venue in ODIs.
| Team | Won |
|---|---|
| Batting First | 78 |
| Batting Second | 77 |
| Tie/No Result | 5 |
The Melbourne Cricket Ground has a seating capacity of about 1,00,000 spectators.
The pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is known to be very competitive. It gives a good balance for both bowlers and batsmen.
Early in the game, bowlers can benefit from the pitch, which offers nice bounce. As the game goes on and the pitch gets older, batsmen can play their shots more easily.
However, spinners usually find it hard to get much help from this pitch. Since 1996, the MCG has used drop-in pitches for its matches.
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| Average first innings score in Melbourne | 221 |
|---|---|
| Matches won after batting first | 78 |
| Matches won by chasing team | 77 |
In the last ODI match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia dominated West Indies to secure an eight-wicket victory. Newcomer Xavier Bartlett made an impressive debut, taking 4 wickets for just 17 runs.
His early strikes left West Indies struggling at 59 for 4, setting the tone for the match. Despite a steady 88 from Keacy Carty and 59 from Roston Chase, West Indies managed only 231 runs.
Australia’s chase was smooth, led by Josh Inglis, who scored a quick 65 off 43 balls. Cameron Green scored an unbeaten 77.
Steven Smith supported him well with 79 not out, and together, they guided Australia to victory with over 11 overs remaining. This win gave Australia a 1-0 lead in the series.
The highest team score in Melbourne came from Australia when they scored 355 for 5 against England on November 22, 2022. This was largely due to an outstanding partnership of 269 runs between Travis Head and David Warner.
Head scored a quick 152 off 130 balls, while Warner scored 106. Their record-breaking stand set the foundation for Australia’s big total, even though the innings was reduced to 48 overs due to rain.
England couldn’t chase down the DLS-adjusted target of 364 and were bowled out for 142, giving Australia a 221-run victory and a clean series sweep.
94/10 is the lowest score in ODIs in Melbourne. It was recorded by England during the 1979 series against Australia. After being bowled out for 94 by Australia, England lost the match by 6 wickets with Australia chasing the target of 95 runs in 22 overs.
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Jason Roy holds the record for the highest individual ODI score at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, scoring 180 runs against Australia on January 14, 2018. His batting led England to chase down Australia’s total of 304, setting a record for the highest successful ODI chase at the MCG.
Roy’s aggressive play, combined with Joe Root’s support in a double-century partnership, dismantled the Australian bowling attack. Roy’s innings surpassed England’s previous ODI highest score, marking a historic day for him and his team in one of cricket’s iconic venues.
India’s Yuzvendra Chahal and Ajit Agarkar jointly hold the record for the best bowling figures at Melbourne Cricket Ground in ODIs. Both the players hold the record with impressive figures of 6/42.
Ricky Ponting has scored 2108 runs in Melbourne in 41 ODIs, which includes 7 centuries and 15 half-centuries. He has an impressive average of 56.97 at the venue.
The record for most wickets taken at Melbourne Cricket Ground is held by Australia’s Shane Warne. The spinner has bagged 46 wickets at Melbourne.
According to Dafabet, Australia are the favourites to win the 1st ODI match against Pakistan in Melbourne.
| Team | Betting odds |
| Australia | 1.19 |
| Pakistan | 5.00 |
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