Rawalpindi: Five wickets from Arafat Minhas on debut, fifties from Babar Azam and Ghazi Ghori helped Pakistan win the first ODI of the 3-match home series against Australia by 5 wickets.
Chasing a modest target of 201, the hosts managed to reach the winning runs with five wickets and 45 balls to spare, aided by a century and a third-wicket partnership from Babur and Gorey.
The green shirts got off to a contrasting start as they lost left-arm opener Mas Sathak (eight) for just 25 in the sixth over.
His dismissal paved the way for Babar to exit and share a cautious 24-run partnership for the second wicket with right-arm opener Sahibzada Farhan, who was dismissed by Tanveer Sangha for 28 off 33 balls with 3 boundaries in the 13th over.
Babur was then joined in the middle by rising wicketkeeper Batter Ghazi and the duo dominated Australia’s bowling attack and supported Pakistan with half-centuries within touching distance.
The pair put on 127 runs for the third wicket, with Nathan Ellis dropping Baber with a slower delivery in the 39th over.
Babar retired after scoring 69 off 94 balls with 4 fours and a six as Pakistan’s highest score.
Ellis struck again in his next over, dismissing another set batter, Corey, who departed after scoring 65 off 92 balls with eight boundaries.
Pakistan suffered another setback when Marnes Labuschagne caught Salman Ali Agha (six) lbw off the first delivery of the 43rd over, but Arafat Minhas returned unbeaten on 18 off 17 balls with a third-ball six over the bowler’s head.
Ellis was Australia’s best bowler with 2 for 45 in his 7 overs, with Matthew Kuhneman, Sangha and Labuschagne picking up a scalp each. Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s fielding first paid dividends. Matthew Short and Matt Renshaw.
The visitors got their innings off to a steady start as Short and Alex Carey (19) added 34 runs for the first wicket and Abrar Ahmed got Pakistan’s much-needed breakthrough in the seventh over.
Short then joined captain Josh Inglis in the middle and the duo batted cautiously amid a 28-run partnership for the second wicket.
Debutant Minhas broke the burgeoning partnership by dismissing Inglis in the 14th over for 13 off 22 balls.
Minhas struck again in the same over, trapping Marnes Labuschagne for a duck, while Cameron Green cleaned up in his next over to reduce Australia to 68/4.
Following a flurry of wickets, Short joined Renshaw and the duo stitched a 55-run partnership for the fifth wicket to anchor the innings, during which the opener notched up his fourth ODI half-century.
However, Short failed to convert his half-century into a big game as he too fell victim to Minhas in the 27th over and was out again after scoring 55 off 76 balls with the help of 6 fours.
Renshaw then took charge of Australia’s batting and shared important partnerships with Oliver Peake (seven) and Matthew Kuhneman (24) before eventually succumbing to Abrar in the 39th over.
The middle-order batsman top-scored for Australia with 61 off 63 balls with 5 fours and a six.
His dismissal exposed Australia’s toothless batting wall, which was easily swept away by Pakistan pacers, skipper Shaheen and Haris Rauf.
Arafat Minhas led Pakistan’s bowling with sensational figures of 5/32 from his 10 overs, followed by Abrar with two, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen and Harris with one wicket each.