Arafat Minhas five-fer on debut sets up Pakistan's easy win

Pakistan clinched a five-wicket win over Australia in the first of three ODIs at Rawalpindi on Saturday (May 30). On debut, Arafat Minhas starred with a superb five-wicket haul, returning figures of 5/32 to help bowl Australia out for 200 on a surface that offered assistance to the spinners. Fifties from Babar Azam and Ghazi Ghori then guided Pakistan to the target with relative ease despite Australia posing a few questions through their spin attack.

Having opted to bowl first, Pakistan introduced spin as early as the seventh over and struck immediately when Abrar Ahmed induced an outside edge from Alex Carey. Australia still enjoyed a reasonable Powerplay, reaching 51/1, but their innings unravelled soon after. Minhas trapped both Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne LBW within the space of three deliveries before returning in his next over to bowl Cameron Green.

Australia had slipped from 62/1 to 68/4 before Matthew Short and Matt Renshaw launched a recovery through a 55-run stand while negotiating the spinners carefully. Short brought up his half-century in the 23rd over and appeared set for a substantial score, only to be stumped off Minhas four overs later.

Renshaw carried on and reached his fifty while adding 22 runs with Oliver Peake and a further 34 with Matthew Kuhnemann. Australia's hopes of a competitive total suffered a major setback when Renshaw was undone by a skidder from Abrar in the 39th over. From there, the visitors added only 21 more runs for their final three wickets before being bowled out in the 45th over. One of those final three wickets fell to Minhas who became the first Pakistan bowler in history to register a five-fer on ODI debut.

Australia also turned to spin early and found success when Kuhnemann dismissed Maaz Sadaqat with just his second delivery in the sixth over. Tanveer Sangha then removed Sahibzada Farhan in the 13th over, leaving Pakistan at 49/2 and giving the visitors an opening. However, Babar and Ghori combined to extinguish those hopes through a match-defining 127-run partnership.

Australia's bowlers continued to probe and extract occasional assistance from the surface, but genuine opportunities proved scarce. The only notable chance came in the 33rd over when Babar was put down. The pair remained patient, refusing to be rushed as they steadily moved Pakistan towards victory while bringing up their respective half-centuries.

Nathan Ellis eventually broke the partnership when an off-cutter kept low and bowled Babar. He then trapped Ghori LBW in his next over, but by then the result was little more than a formality.

Having already stolen the show with the ball, Minhas capped a memorable debut by finishing the chase with a six as Pakistan reached the target with five wickets in hand and 7.3 overs to spare.

Brief Scores: Australia 200 all-out in 44.1 overs (Matt Renshaw 61, Matt Short 55; Arafat Minhas 5/32, Abrar Ahmed 2/44) lost to Pakistan 202/5 in 42.3 overs (Babar Azam 69, Ghazi Ghori 65; Nathan Ellis 2-45) by 5 wickets.