HAMBANTOTA – Pakistan defeated Afghanistan with a huge margin of 142 runs in the first ODI at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota on Tuesday evening to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Defending a modest target of 202 runs at a sluggish pitch, Pakistani pacers led by player of the match Haris Rauf made a mockery of the Afghanistan batting lineup.
The hosts were bundled out for just 59 runs, their second-lowest total in ODIs.
Haris Rauf led the bowling attack with his first ever five wickets haul. He took five wickets in a fiery spell of 6.2 overs while conceding just 18 runs.
Haris was ably supported by fellow fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Shaheen took two wickets for just nine runs and Naseem Shah took one wicket for 12 runs. Shadab Khan took one wicket without conceding any run in his solitary over.
Rehmanullah Gurbaz was the highest scorer for Afghanistan with 18 runs.
Azmatullah Omarzai scored 16 runs before retiring due to injury.
No other batsman managed to enter double figures.
Earlier, Pakistan set a below-par target of 202 runs for host Afghanistan.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat first on a sluggish pitch, Pakistan lost two key wickets in the first couple of overs with only seven runs on the board.
Fazalhaq Farooqi removed dangerous Fakhar Zaman for two while Majeebur Rehman took the prize wicket of skipper Babar Azam.
Imamul Haq and Muhammad Rizwan tried to rescue Pakistan from a precarious position but green shirts continued losing wickets at regular intervals.
Muhammad Rizwan departed after scoring 21 runs and Salman Ali Agha after making just seven.
Imam and Iftikhar added valuable 50 runs before the departure of the latter at an individual score of 30.
Shadab Khan and Imam added another 40 runs together before the latter departed at an individual score of 61.
After losing the wickets of Usama Mir and Shaheen Afridi in quick succession, Shadad and Naseem Shah guided the team to go past the 200 mark.
An unnecessary run out of Shadab Khan at an individual score of 39 and the dismissal of Haris Rauf ended the hopes of going past the 220 runs mark.
Pakistan was bowled out in 47.1 overs, for the first time in an ODI match against Afghanistan.
Mujeebur Rahman took three wickets while Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi claimed two wickets each.
Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rehmat Shah took one wicket each while Shadab Khan was run out.
The second ODI of the three-match series will be played on August 24 at the same venue. The team will move to Colombo to play the third and final match of the series on August 26.
