Rauf takes five as Afghanistan retires for 59

Pakistan 201 (Imam 61, Iftikhar 30, Mujeeb 3-31, Nabi 2-34, Rashid 2-42) won Afghanistan 59 (Rauf 5-18, Afridi 2-9) for 142 runs

The fast bowlers who have the batsmen jumping and swinging are the perfect fire for the ice spinners who have the batsmen tangled. On Tuesday in Hambantota, the joy of seeing the players do their thing reached a perfect crescendo, with Pakistan holding off Afghanistan for 59 to secure a huge win.

Rauf took five wickets for 18, his best ODI effort, after Afridi and Naseem started Afghanistan’s downfall. Afridi started by bouncing Ibrahim Zadran in his second over before Rahmat Shah bowled a full ball into short half from his next ball. Naseem, who had Gurbaz at bay with his great pace and movement, dismissed Hashmatullah Shahidi from a keeper. It got big for Shahidi, who tried to shoot and almost cleared the square leg forward. But Shadab Khan leapt to his left and flicked the ball up, before catching it in one motion as he landed to see off the Afghanistan captain.

With three of the top four hitters out by a duck, there wasn’t much to stand out from the rest of Afghanistan’s hitting program, either. Rauf began his spell with a backer that Ikram Alikhil, playing an ODI for the first time since November 2019, approached the keeper. Gurbaz never felt comfortable during his stay and gave the keeper an outside lead for 18, the highest score of the innings.

Azmatullah Omarzai attacked to make it 16 for 12 with three fours before retiring injured, even as Rauf ran through the middle order and finished with a five for after Mujeeb lost one at half.

Earlier on a hot afternoon Babar Azam won the toss and Pakistan opted to bat on a dry surface but were reduced to 7 for 2 in two overs. Left arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi upset Fakhar Zaman with a swing before cutting him off and sliding. He hit a yorker on the second ball before getting one to walk away, which Fakhar couldn’t resist pushing. Opening the bowling, Mujeeb slid one across the full line of the skidding stumps, beating Babar’s defense to catch him lbw for a three-ball.

Mohammad Rizwan, back to the No. 4 spot after batting at No. 5 in the previous series against New Zealand, looked positive from the start. He stroked Farooqi for two fours in the fifth over. First, he tossed a full ball through the air through the space with added coverage before caressing one through the same region a ball later. Rizwan hit two more fours in Farooqi’s next over to increase Pakistan’s running pace.

But Mujeeb, in his fourth over, caught Rizwan lbw to push Pakistan back. He tossed a carrom ball around the leg which Rizwan missed on his defending attempt to the side to get hit on the rear leg. Replays showed that he would have cut the bails. Agha Salman, coming off a successful series against New Zealand at home in May, stalled before being stunned by a Rashid goal as Pakistan stumbled on 62 for 4.

But in an attempt to up the ante against Nabi, he topped one after going down track. However, Shahidi couldn’t hold on after running out of the shelter from him. Imam had another life as Omarzai fired a high shot into deep coverage before a missed shot didn’t make it a long run. However, Imam’s luck ran out when he tried to hit Nabi up the middle, missing a shot to Rashid, who got a catch after backtracking.

During his tenure at the middle, Imam found a capable ally first in Iftikhar Ahmed, with whom he hit 50 for 69 for the fifth wicket, and then in Shadab for a 40-run partnership.

Iftikhar helped lead Pakistan’s comeback by using the tuck against spin and knocking them down in singles and doubles. He didn’t let short and wide pitches go unpunished, using the slice shot for each of his two fours. But a delivery from Nabi, staying on the surface, saw him nab a sack at short middle.

On the other hand, Shadab, who played just his fourth ODI in 2023, spotted Rashid’s googly early and hit him over the head. He added 34 more with Naseem for the ninth wicket before a direct strike from Mujeeb from the thin leg sent him running off the bowler’s side.

Afghanistan managed to defeat Pakistan for the first time in ODI, but a tame batting surrender meant the wait for a first win against their opponents in the format continues.