Arafat Minhas registers first fifer by Pakistan bowler on ODI debut
Rawalpindi, May 31
Pakistan spinner Arafat Minhas made history, becoming the first-ever bowler from his team to take a five-wicket haul on ODI debut.
Minhas achieved this milestone during his side's first ODI match against Australia at Rawalpindi, taking 5/32 in 10 overs to wrap up Australia for a sub-par score.
Before this, Zakir Hussain (4/19 against New Zealand at Peshawar in 1984), held the best figures for Pakistan on ODI debut.
Coming to the match, Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first, reducing Australia to 68/4, with Matthew Short (55 in 61 balls, with six fours) and Matt Renshaw (61 in 63 balls, with five fours and a six) putting on a 55-run stand for the fifth wicket to stage a fight-back.
Matthew Kuhnemann (24 in 40 balls, with two fours) contributed valuable runs from the bottom as Australia could make just 200 in 44.1 overs, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf getting one wicket each, and Abrar Ahmed also getting two.
The chase of 201 runs was driven by fifties from Babar Azam (69 in 94 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Ghazi Ghori (65 in 92 balls, with eight overs) as Pakistan chased the target with 45 balls and five wickets in hand.
On Tuesday, the second ODI of the three-match series will be held at Lahore.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Great performance by Minhas, but I feel Babar Azam is truly the backbone of this Pakistan lineup. Without his 69, the chase could've been tricky. Also, Australia’s batting looked shaky—200 was never going to be enough on this pitch. Exciting series ahead, but Pakistan needs to tighten a few areas if they want to beat strong sides consistently. 🧐
As a neutral fan from Australia, I'm impressed by Minhas—taking 5 wickets on debut is no joke. But seriously, our batting needs a reality check. 200 all out? That's not competitive in ODIs anymore. Short and Renshaw tried, but the middle order collapsed again. Pakistan deserved this win for their disciplined bowling performance. Well played!
Hats off to the young lad, Arafat Minhas! 🎉 But you know what rubs me the wrong way? The constant comparisons with Indian bowlers. Let the kid breathe and build his own legacy. Also, good to see Ghazi Ghori mentioned—he quietly did a solid job. Hope Pakistan's management doesn't overhype Minhas and then drop him after two bad games. 😅
Fair play to Minhas, that's a special debut. But I'm more concerned about Australia's lack of intent with the bat. 55 and 61 from Short and Renshaw look decent, but they consumed too many balls on a good pitch. Pakistan's spin attack looked threatening—Abrar and Minhas complemented each other well. The second ODI at Lahore should be a cracker! 🏏
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