Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf star as Pakistan rout Afghanistan

Pakistan Slams Afghanistan by 142 Runs in First ODI

Pak Vs Afg 2023

Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by a comprehensive 142 runs in the first ODI of the three- match series at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota, Sri Lanka on August 22, 2023.  

 Put in to  club, Pakistan got off to a poor  launch, losing three lattices for 23 runs. still, Imam- ul- Haq( 61) and Iftikhar Ahmed( 30) put on a 67- run  cooperation to steady the innings. Pakistan  ultimately reached 201 for 9 in their 50 overs.  

 In reply, Afghanistan was  whisked out for just 59, with Shaheen Afridi( 2- 9) and Haris Rauf( 5- 18) taking four lattices all. 

Here is a more detailed summary of the match:

Pakistan's innings:

Pakistan's top order  plodded against the Afghanistan spin attack, with nature Fakhar Zaman( 0) and captain Babar Azam( 1) both dismissed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the first six overs.     

Imam- ul- Haq and Iftikhar Ahmed  also put on a steadying  cooperation, but the  ultimate was run out for 30 in the 23rd over. Imam- ul- Haq continued to  club well, but he was  ultimately dismissed by Rashid Khan for 61 in the 39th over.    

 Pakistan lost a many  further lattices in the final overs, but they still managed to reach a respectable aggregate of 201 for 9. 

Afghanistan's innings:

Afghanistan's fur was  fully outplayed by Pakistan's bowling attack. The openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz( 18) and Hazratullah Zazai( 1), were both dismissed by Shaheen Afridi in the first powerplay.     The rest of the Afghanistan batsmen  plodded to get going, and they were all dismissed for single-  number scores. 

The only exception was Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 16 off 12 balls before retiring hurt.     Afghanistan was  ultimately  sailed out for just 59, their  smallest ODI aggregate against Pakistan. 

Key performers

Shaheen Afridi (2-9) and Haris Rauf (5-18) were the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan.

Imam-ul-Haq (61) was the top scorer for Pakistan.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (18) was the top scorer for Afghanistan.

Man of the match

Haris Rauf was named the man of the match for his excellent bowling performance. He took two wickets for just nine runs and was also economical, giving away just two runs an over.

The series so far

The first ODI was a comprehensive palm for Pakistan, but the series is still  veritably  important alive. Afghanistan will be looking to bounce back in the alternate ODI, which will be played on August 24. 

Conclusion

Pakistan got off to a winning  launch in the three- match ODI series against Afghanistan. They will be looking to  make on this performance in the alternate ODI and take a 2- 0 lead in the series. Afghanistan will need to ameliorate their fur if they want to challenge Pakistan. 

#shaheenafridi #pakvsafg