HAMBANTOTA – Haris Rauf delivered brilliant bowling spell to help Pakistan bag 142-run victory against Afghanistan in first game of the three match ODI series played at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota.
Pakistan dismissed nine players of the opponent team for 59 runs in 19.2 overs while one of the player retired hurt. Five Afghan batters removed for duck while only two could enter the double digit score.
Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets while Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan claimed one wicket each.
SENSATIONAL SPELL OF BOWLING ????@HarisRauf14 stars in the first ODI with his maiden five-wicket haul ????#AFGvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/LqmVsrTODY
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 22, 2023
Earlier, Pakistan had set an easy target of 202 runs for Afghanistan as the opponent team’s bowlers Afghan bowlers showed impressive performance with ball as Pakistan suffered early losses as Fakhar Zaman was removed for two and skipper Babar Azam departed for duck.
Opener Imamul Haq tried to build the score after early losses as he smashed 61 off 94 before being sent to packing by Mohammad Nabi.
Rizwan made 21 runs while Shahdab Khan scored 39 and Iftikhar Ahmed 30 to take the score to 201 for the opponent team.
Afghanistan’s Mujeebur Rahman took three wickets while Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi claimed two wickets each as they removed all batting line of Pakistan in 47.1 overs.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first.
Pakistan Squad
Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi.
Afghanistan Squad
Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk), Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Wafadar Momand.
The playing XI will be announced by the both teams shortly before the start of the match.
Pakistan vs Afghanistan ODI Live Streaming
The match will be live telecast on PTV sports while several apps will also provide live scoring details to the cricket fans.
More to follow…
