SHARJAH – Australia humbled Pakistan in the first One Day International of the five match series being played at the Sharjah International Cricket Ground on Friday.
Batting first after winning the toss, Pakistan set a target of 281 runs for Aussies. Left-hander Haris Sohail scored his maiden one-day century to guide Pakistan to the target. Pakistan lost five wickets in its innings.
In reply, Australia chased the target easily as AJ Finch contributed 116 runs while SE Marsh added 91 to the innings. Finch was declared man of the match.
https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB/status/1109165924391833601
Pacer Mohammad Abbas, Test opener Shan Masood made their debut while Umar Akmal returned to the team after a hiatus, as key players – captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been rested to allow bench players a chance to grab a spot in the World Cup squad.
Shoaib Malik will lead the team in the series. Six players from the previous squad have been rested, including skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Meanwhile, the PCB has confirmed umpire and match referee appointments for the upcoming ODI series.
The ICC has appointed Jeff Crowe of the elite panel as the series match referee, while Kumar Dharmasena and Michael Gough of the elite and international panels, respectively will share the on-field and TV umpires’ responsibilities.
The PCB has appointed Ahsan Raza, Asif Yaqoob, Rashid Riaz and Shozab Raza for the on-field and fourth umpires’ roles.
Playing XI
Pakistan: Shan Masood, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik (c), Faheem Ashram, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Shaun Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa
Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG) and Ahsan Raza (PAK)
TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
