The match was a special milestone for Pakistan — their 1,000th one-day international. In it, Pakistan beat Australia by five wickets.
In the first match of the three-match ODI series, Australia lost the toss, batted first and set a target of 201. Pakistan chased it down in 42.3 overs on the back of fifties from Babar Azam and Gazi Ghouri.
But the main hero of Pakistan’s 1,000th ODI was neither of them — it was debutant Arafat Minhas. The 21-year-old left-arm spinner took five wickets on his ODI debut in Rawalpindi, the first such instance by a Pakistani bowler. In 10 overs for just 32 runs, he dismissed Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Matthew Short and Nathan Ellis.
In the chase, Pakistan lost two wickets for 49, but a third-wicket stand of 127 between Babar and Ghouri decided the match. Babar was out for 69 and Ghouri for 65, both dismissed by Ellis. The second ODI of the series is on June 2.
Brief scores
Australia: 200 in 44.1 overs (Renshaw 61, Short 55; Minhas 5/32).
Pakistan: 202/5 in 42.3 overs (Babar 69, Ghouri 65; Ellis 2/45).
Result: Pakistan won by 5 wickets. Player of the match: Arafat Minhas.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report