RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: Debutant Arafat Minhas produced a match-winning all-round performance as Pakistan defeated Australia by five wickets in the opening One-Day International of the three-match series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
The left-arm spinner claimed a five-wicket haul on his ODI debut before contributing the winning runs as Pakistan chased down a target of 201 with 45 balls to spare.
The victory gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the series and capped a memorable outing in Pakistan’s landmark 1,000th ODI.
Babar and Ghori anchor chase
Chasing a modest target, Pakistan lost opener Maaz Sadaqat for eight in the sixth over with the score on 25.
Babar Azam then joined Sahibzada Farhan and steadied the innings with a cautious partnership.
Farhan scored 28 from 33 deliveries before falling to Tanveer Sangha in the 13th over.
Babar was then joined by wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori, and the pair took control of the chase with a decisive 127-run stand for the third wicket.
The partnership effectively ended Australia’s hopes of defending their total as both batters compiled composed half-centuries.
Babar top-scored for Pakistan with 69 from 94 balls, striking four fours and a six before being dismissed by Nathan Ellis in the 39th over.
Ellis struck again in his next over when he removed Ghori for 65. The wicketkeeper’s innings came off 92 deliveries and included eight boundaries.
Pakistan suffered a brief wobble when Salman Ali Agha was trapped lbw for six by Marnus Labuschagne in the 43rd over.
However, Minhas fittingly sealed victory by hitting a straight six, remaining unbeaten on 18 from 17 balls.
Ellis was Australia’s most successful bowler with figures of 2-45, while Sangha, Matthew Kuhnemann and Labuschagne claimed one wicket each.
Minhas dismantles Australian batting
Earlier, Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that proved highly effective.
Australia made a steady start through Matt Short and Alex Carey, who added 34 runs for the opening wicket before spinner Abrar Ahmed dismissed Carey for 19.
Short and captain Josh Inglis then attempted to rebuild the innings but Minhas changed the course of the match with a devastating spell.
The debutant dismissed Inglis for 13 and trapped Labuschagne for a duck in the same over before removing Cameron Green in his next over.
Australia slumped to 68-4 as Pakistan tightened their grip on the contest.
Short and Matthew Renshaw staged a recovery with a 55-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Short brought up his fourth ODI half-century but was unable to build on it, becoming Minhas’s fourth victim after scoring 55 from 76 deliveries with six boundaries.
Renshaw then led Australia’s resistance. He shared useful partnerships with Ollie Peake and Matthew Kuhnemann and briefly threatened to lift the visitors towards a competitive total.
The left-hander top-scored with 61 from 63 balls, including five fours and a six, before falling to Abrar Ahmed in the 39th over.
His dismissal exposed Australia’s lower order and Pakistan’s pace attack quickly wrapped up the innings.
Australia were bowled out for 200 in 44.1 overs.
Minhas finished with outstanding figures of 5-32 from his 10 overs to become the standout performer of the match.
Abrar Ahmed took two wickets, while Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf claimed one each.
