LAHORE MIRROR – Haris Rauf’s maiden five-wicket haul propelled Pakistan to register a crushing 142-run victory over Afghanistan in the first ODI of the three-match series on Tuesday.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman led the attack with three wickets, including the prized scalp of Pakistan captain Babar Azam. While Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi contributed with one wicket each.
Pakistan went off to a horrible start after winning the toss as they quickly reduced to 7-2 in two overs, with Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman back in the pavilion.
Imam-ul-Haq, however, remained calm on his end, anchoring through the innings as he knitted a 33-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan before Mujeeb struck again to reduce Pakistan to 40-3, which quickly became 62-4 with the wicket of Agha Salman.
1️⃣-0️⃣ in emphatic style 💥
What an incredible bowling performance to win the first ODI by 142 runs! 💪#AFGvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/o7Hgslpt31
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 22, 2023
Iftikhar Ahmed and Imam-ul-Haq then stabilized the innings with a formidable 50-run stand in 69 balls. However, Mohammad Nabi broke the stand as Iftikhar was caught by Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi. Iftikhar scored 30 runs from 41 deliveries with the help of two boundaries.
Mohammad Nabi struck again to end Imam’s cautious innings at a total of 152, breaking the 40-run stand between Imam and Shadab Khan. Imam-ul-Haq’s 94-ball innings of 61 featured only two boundaries.
Pakistan team appeared to be bundled out under 200 runs, as they slumped to 163-8. However, Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah stitched a 34-run partnership to drag the total to 198 at the fall of the ninth wicket. Shadab Khan scored 39 runs off 50 balls with the help of three boundaries.
Rahmat Shah picked up the final wicket of Haris Rauf to wrap up the innings at 201.
