Pakistan secured victory against Australia in first ODI match

Pakistan secured a five-wicket victory over Australia in the first ODI of the series played in Rawalpindi.

After winning the toss, Pakistan opted to field first, a decision that proved successful as Australia were bowled out for 200 runs in 44.1 overs.

Chasing the target, Pakistan comfortably reached 201 for 5 in the 43rd over. Babar Azam led the run chase with 69 runs, while Ghazi Ghori contributed 65. Sahibzada Farhan scored 28 and Moaz Sadaqat added 8 runs.

For Australia, Nathan Ellis took two wickets, while Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Kuhnemann and Tanveer Sangha claimed one wicket each.

Earlier, Australia’s top scorers were Matt Renshaw with 61 runs and Matthew Short with 55. Matthew Kuhnemann made 24, Alex Carey scored 19, Josh Inglis added 13, Nathan Ellis made 8 and Oliver Peake contributed 7 runs. Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green were dismissed without scoring.

Making his ODI debut, Pakistan spinner Arafat Minhas starred with the ball by taking five wickets. Abrar Ahmed claimed two wickets, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Salman Ali Agha picked up one wicket each.

Arafat Minhas became the first Pakistani bowler to take five wickets on ODI debut, finishing with figures of 5 for 32 in 10 overs. He also broke a 42-year-old national record previously held by Zakaria Khan, who took 4 wickets for 19 runs on his ODI debut against New Zealand in 1984.

The match was also historic for Pakistan as it marked the team’s 1,000th ODI, making Pakistan only the third team in cricket history to reach the milestone of playing 1,000 One-Day Internationals.