Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan batting lineup succumbed to pressure and were bundled out for 59 by Pakistan’s lethal pace attack in a low-scoring first ODI at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota on August 22. Pakistan beat Afghanistan by a massive margin of 142 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first. Fakhar Zaman got out in the first over to Fazalhaq Farooqi chasing a full delivery outside off stump. Then Azam got out for a rare three-ball duck to Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Mohammad Rizwan showed promise but he got out lbw to Mujeeb as well. Agha Salman got out for a single-digit score as he was trapped in front of the stumps by Rashid Khan.
Iftikhar Ahmed and opener Imam-ul-Haq shared a crucial 50-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Mohammad Nabi broke the partnership. Imam scored a patient half-century and shared another crucial 40-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Shadab Khan. Imam was dismissed for a 94-ball 61 in the 36th over. Nabi broke the partnership again.
Usama Mir and Shaheen Afridi were dismissed for single-digit scores by Mujeeb and Rashid respectively. Shadab and Naseem Shah's ninth-wicket partnership got Pakistan close to the 200-run mark. In the 47th over, Shadab got run out and missed his half-century. He scored 39 runs from 50 balls. Shah remained unbeaten for 18 as Pakistan got all out for 201 in 47.1 overs.
Shaheen Afridi did not let Afghanistan's top-order get comfortable and dismissed Ibrahim Zadran, and Rahmat Shah for their respective ducks. Shah in his second over got the wicket of Shahid for a three-ball duck. After missing a simple run out chance of Ikram Alikhil, he was dismissed by Haris Rauf in the eighth over. Rahmanullah Gurbaz tried to survive but Rauf got the better of him in the 14th over. He scored 18 runs from 47 balls. Afghanistan lost half their side for 35 runs.
Rauf in the 16th over struck twice to dismiss Nabi and Rashid. Azmatullah Omarzai hit a few boundaries but he walked out of the ground retired hurt. He scored 16 runs from 12 balls. Shadab was introduced into the attack and he dismissed Abdul Rahman on the fifth ball. Rauf then dismissed Mujeeb in the 20th over to complete his fifer. This was Afghanistan's second-lowest total in ODIs.
“It was chaseable, we had a good chance but their bowling didn't allow us. Our shot selection wasn't good enough and it put pressure on us. Happy with our bowlers' performance and looking forward to the next game, we will try our best. Gotta be smart in our shot-selection and today we didn't do that well,” Shahidi rued the opportunity to register their first ODI win over Pakistan.
Azam lauded his pace bowling attack and downplayed and picked out positives from the games despite a poor batting display.
“We all know what Shaheen can do with the new ball. The way Haris Rauf bowled, that spell was game-changing. I always try my level best (as a batter and captain), sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, it happens in the game of cricket. We want to stay positive,” he said.
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