ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s pace battery, led by fast bowler Haris Rauf, demolished Afghanistan by 142 runs to claim a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series between the two sides in Hambantota on Tuesday.
Rauf took career-best figures of 5-18, bowling several times over 90mph to trouble Afghanistan. After getting bowled out for 201 runs from 47.1 overs, Pakistan bounced back with left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissing Ibrahim Zadran (o) and Rahmat Shah (0) off successive deliveries.
Right-arm pacer Naseem Shah struck next by dismissing Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, who also went without scoring, making it 4-3.
Rauf took the wickets of Ikram Alikhil (4), top-scorer Rahmanullah Gurbaz (18), Mohammad Nabi (7), Rashid Khan (0) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (4) to complete Pakistan’s rout of Afghanistan.
The Afghan side were dismissed for a hapless 59 runs, their second-lowest total in ODI cricket.
The win puts Pakistan ahead of Afghanistan by 1-0 in the three-match series, with the other two matches set to take place on Colombo on Thursday and Saturday.
This is the first bilateral ODI series between the two sides that is taking place in Sri Lanka. The series will serve as preparation for Pakistan and Afghanistan ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup tournaments.
While the Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30, India will host the World Cup from October 5.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against Afghanistan, a decision that did not bode well for the green shirts who lost opener Fakhar Zaman on the fourth ball of the match. Zaman was dismissed for 2 after he was caught by Muhammad Nabi off a Fazalhaq Farooqi delivery.
Afghan spinner Rahman struck gold by dismissing Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for 0 and proceeded to take dismiss the dangerous Muhammad Rizwan, who fell after scoring only 21 runs from 22 balls.
Ace spinner Rashid Khan then dismissed Agha Salman (7 from 29 balls) before opener Imam-ul-Haq and Iftikhar Ahmed steadied Pakistan’s innings.
However, the Haq-Ahmed partnership lasted only 50 runs after Ahmed was dismissed by Nabi for 30 runs off 41 balls.
Haq top-scored for Pakistan, making 61 runs from 94 balls while all-rounder Shadab Khan scored 39 valuable runs to ensure Pakistan finished at 201 runs.
Afghanistan’s spinners troubled Pakistan’s top-order, with Rahman finishing with figures of 3-33, Nabi 2-34, and Khan 2-42.
