Pakistan pace trio spell strong CWC23 warning in clinical win
Pakistan pacers shared eight wickets between them in Hambantota as they bowled Afghanistan out for 59 in the first ODI of the three-match series.
Haris Rauf took a career-best haul while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah also hit top gear in Pakistan’s first ODI outside home in 2023.
Pakistan had struggled to gather momentum in their own batting innings, needing a late ninth-wicket stand to lift them past 200 against a strong Afghanistan bowling attack.
Video cwc19 09 Nov 22 03:08 Haris Rauf explodes against New Zealand to set up Pakistan victory | POTM Highlights | T20WC 2021 Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf was player of the match for taking 4/22 against New Zealand at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021
But the quicks ensured that Pakistan were on course for a win within the first 10 overs. Shaheen removed Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah off back-to-back deliveries in the third over while Naseem sent back skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi the next over.
Afghanistan’s hopes dimmed with three batters departing for ducks and the scoreboard reading 8/3. Haris Rauf joined the party with a wicket in his first over. He sent back the determined Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the 14th over to trigger another collapse.
From 35/5, Afghanistan were cleaned up for 59, their second-lowest total in ODIs as Rauf finished with career-best figures of 5/18. It was the fourth time that Pakistan had bowled out an opposition side under 20 overs in an ODI.
A career-best haul for Haris Rauf as Pakistan decimated Afghanistan in the ODI series opener 🔥#AFGvPAK pic.twitter.com/xUYlpPSi09
— ICC (@ICC) August 22, 2023
This was also the lowest total made by a team against Pakistan in men’s ODIs.
“We just wanted to bowl as many dot balls as possible and hit hard length in the powerplay,” Babar Azam said after the game, while also hailing Rauf’s spell as “game-changing”.
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Pakistan have made a strong start to a busy season with the win, but more importantly, their pace attack is shaping up pretty well with the World Cup right around the corner.
Since 2021, Pakistan’s pacers have been phenomenal in ODIs with the ball. Rauf leads the pack with 43 wickets in 21 matches at an average of 24.02. Even though the others haven’t played as many ODIs as Rauf, their numbers are no less impressive.
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Shaheen has 27 wickets in 15 ODIs while Mohammad Wasim, who didn’t play on Tuesday, has 24 wickets in 14 games. Naseem is only nine ODIs old, but has already taken two five-wicket hauls and averages a stunning 14.9 in his ODI career so far.
The bowling attack will be pumped up after the brilliant showing in the first ODI with the Asia Cup and World Cup coming up in the next two months.
