Colombo: Pakistan achieved an emphatic clean sweep against Afghanistan in the thrilling three-match ODI series, underscoring their supremacy as the world’s top-ranked team in One Day International (ODI) cricket, as per the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI rankings.
According to the ICC rankings, Pakistan snatched the top spot from Australia with the latest win.
Congratulations! Top-ranked ODI side 🙌#AFGvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/3P1OmA8tqf
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 26, 2023
In a high-stakes clash, played at Sri Lanka’s iconic R Premadasa International Stadium on Saturday, Pakistan has set a challenging target of 269 runs for eight wickets to Afghanistan to chase within the allocated 50 overs.
Pakistan suffered early losses due to the early removal of opening pair Fakhar Zaman and Imamul Haq, who scored 27 and 13, respectively. Both the openers were dismissed by Afghan pacer Gulbadin Naib.
Inzamam-ul-Haq also couldn’t sustain his performance and managed to score 13 runs off 30 balls with the help of a single boundary. Following his dismissal, middle-order batter and wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan came on the field, and in partnership with captain Babar Azam they collectively took Pakistan’s score to 162 runs in 36.5 overs.
Pakistan faced another major setback when captain Babar Azam’s wicket fell, scoring 60 runs off 86 balls with the help of 6 and 4 boundaries. The wicket was claimed by Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
In the 39.2 overs, Pakistan faced its fifth loss as Saud Shakeel was bowled out by Rahmanullah Gurbaz after scoring 9 runs off 6 balls with 2 boundaries.
Shortly after, Pakistan lost its sixth wicket at 39.2 overs and a total score of 184, when wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan was caught out by the hands of Rahmanullah Gurbaz after scoring 67 runs off 79 balls with 6 fours and a 6.
Pakistan’s seventh wicket fell at 40.6 overs and a total score of 189, when Shadab Khan was clean bowled by Majib Ur Rahman after scoring 3 runs off 8 balls.
At the 48.5 overs, Pakistan faced its eighth loss with Mohammad Nawaz being caught out by Rashid Khan’s delivery after scoring 30 runs off 25 balls with 1 six and 2 boundaries.
Pakistan’s ninth wicket fell at 48.5 overs and a total score of 250, when Fakhar Zaman was caught out by the hands of Rashid Khan after scoring 30 runs off 25 balls with 1 six and 2 boundaries.
Pakistan’s final wicket fell as Faheem Ashraf was caught out by Rahmanullah Gurbaz off the delivery of Rashid Khan after scoring 2 runs off 2 balls.
Afghanistan Batting
In response, Afghanistan batters could score 209 as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and other Pakistan bowlers showed impressive bowling skills.
Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz failed to maintain his momentum and was dismissed by Faheem Ashraf for just five runs. His partner Riaz Hassan remained top scorer for Afghanistan with 34 runs and he was bowled out by Shadab Khan.
After captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Ibrahim Zardan failed to perform, Shahidullah gave a boost to the Afghanistan team’s chase by scoring 37 runs before he was removed by Shadab Khan.
Mujeebur Rehman smashed the fastest ODI fifty from Afghanistan but his 67-run knock ended in vein as Pakistan won the match by 59 runs.
The high-margin victory propelled Pakistan to No. 1 spot in ICC Men’s ODI rankings for teams only weeks out from the start of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Pakistan have dethroned the top-ranked Australia in the rankings to clinch the top position, a new milestone achieved by the national team under Babar Azam’s captaincy.
