Debutant Arafat Minhas produced a sensational five-wicket performance as Pakistan dismissed Australia for 200 in the opening ODI of the three-match series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s decision to bowl first paid off as the visitors were restricted to 200 all out in 44.1 overs, despite half-centuries from Matthew Short and Matt Renshaw.
Australia made a steady start, with Short and Alex Carey putting together 34 runs for the first wicket before Abrar Ahmed broke the stand by dismissing Carey in the seventh over.
Short then partnered with captain Josh Inglis, but their 28-run stand was cut short when debutant Minhas struck in the 14th over, removing Inglis for 13 off 22 balls.
Minhas quickly made further inroads, dismissing Marnus Labuschagne for a duck in the same over before removing Cameron Green in his next, leaving Australia struggling at 68/4.
After the early collapse, Short and Renshaw rebuilt the innings with a 55-run partnership, during which Short reached his fourth ODI fifty.
However, Short fell soon after, becoming Minhas’s third wicket after scoring 55 off 76 deliveries with six boundaries.
Renshaw continued to resist with a composed innings, sharing useful partnerships with Oliver Peake and Matthew Kuhnemann before eventually falling to Abrar Ahmed in the 39th over for 61 off 63 balls, hitting five fours and a six.
His dismissal triggered a collapse as Australia’s lower order failed to hold on against Pakistan’s pace attack, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf cleaning up the tail.
Minhas finished with outstanding figures of 5 for 32 in his 10 overs, while Abrar Ahmed took two wickets and Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf claimed one wicket each.
