RAWALPINDI: It was a day for a young Pakistan duo here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday. One starred with the ball while the other excelled with the bat.

While Arafat Minhas became the first Pakistan cricketer to earn a five-wicket haul on One-day International debut, Ghazi Ghori struck his maiden half-century to steer the hosts to a well-deserved five-wicket victory over Australia in the first ODI.

The victory gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Though Pakistan lost opener Maaz Sadaqat (eight), caught by Matthew Short at deep midwicket off slow left-arm orthodox spinner Matthew Kuhnemann in the sixth over, Babar Azam and Ghazi ensured the hosts remain on track in chasing a modest looking 201 in spin-friendly conditions.

Opener Sahibzada Farhan (28 off 33) and Babar steered Pakistan to 41-1 in powerplay.

The dismissal of Sahibzada in the 13th over, when he was taken at long-off by Short off leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha, made it 49-2 and brought Ghazi to the crease.

Though Babar and Ghazi took time to settle, the pair gradually through solid batting kept the Aussies at bay. Though run scoring became difficult particularly against the spin duo of Kuhnemann (1-29) and Sangha (1-31), Pakistan kept moving ahead touching the 100-mark in the 24th over.

Babar completed the half-century — his 38th — off 71 balls while wicket-keeper/batter Ghazi crafted his fifty off 77 as Pakistan steadily obtained a dominating position by reaching 150 in the 35th over.

The invaluable 127-run partnership between Babar and Ghazi coming in 26 overs was finally ended in the 39th over when Babar was undone by a slower back-of-a-length slow delivery by fast bowler Nathan Ellis which cut back sharply. The former Pakistan skipper consumed 94 balls for his 69 laced with four fours and a six.

Two overs later, right-handed Ghazi, after making a 92-ball 65, was trapped in front by Ellis as the scoreboard read 185-4. The 23-year-old Ghazi’s knock was dotted with eight fours. Though Salman Ali Agha (six) was quickly sent back to the pavilion by part-time bowler Marnus Labuschagne, Arafat (18 not out off 17) and Abdul Samad (one not out) helped Pakistan get over the line with 45 balls to spare.

Ellis (2-45) emerged as the main wicket-taker for Australia.

SPIN TRAP

Earlier after being sent in to bat, the Josh Inglis-led side struggled to get going against the Pakistan spinners, particularly Arafat, despite fighting half-centuries from Matt Renshaw and Short.

Alex Carey (19) was the first Australian wicket claimed by spinner Abrar Ahmed in the seventh over as the batter was caught by Salman Ali Agha in the slip.

After Australia posted 51-1 in powerplay, slow left-arm orthodox spinner Arafat started displaying his magic.

The 21-year-old started denting the tourists with a double blow in the 14th over.

Inglis (13) became the 21-year-old spinner’s maiden ODI victim as the Australian skipper was trapped in front. Two balls later, Labuschagne (zero) met the same fate as the Australia score now read 62-3.

Cameron Green was Arafat’s next target with the spinner simply bamboozling the tall batter as the ball spun away sharply to hit the top of the off-stump to leave the tourists tottering at 68-4 in the 16th.

Opener Short (55 off 76) and Renshaw (61 off 63) tried to rescue Australia with a fighting 55-run stand before Arafat yet again came back to send Short back to the pavilion as the batter was stumped by Ghazi in the 27th over. Short struck six fours.

And once last hope Renshaw, who smashed five fours and a six, was bowled by Abrar in the 39th over, Australia’s hiccup-laden innings lost the remaining momentum. Though Kuhnemann (24) tried to resurrect the innings in the final overs, he consumed as many as 40 balls.

Ellis was Arafat’s fifth wicket as the young spinner recorded fabulous stats of 5-32. The spinner from Multan, who has represented Pakistan in four T20 Internationals too, received a richly-deserved man-of-the-match award.

Sangha was bowled by captain Shaheen Shah Afridi while fellow pacer Haris Rauf wrapped up the Australian innings by dismissing Kuhnemann in the 45th over.

Scoreboard

AUSTRALIA:

A. Carey c Salman b Abrar19

M. Short st Ghazi b Arafat55

J. Inglis lbw b Arafat13

M. Labuschagne lbw b Arafat0

C. Green b Arafat0

M. Renshaw b Abrar61

O. Peake c Ghori b Salman7

M. Kuhnemann c Babar b Haris24

N. Ellis b Arafat8

T. Sangha b Shaheen0

B. Stanlake not out0

EXTRAS (LB-6, W-7)13

TOTAL (all out, 44.1 overs)200

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-34 (Carey), 2-62 (Inglis), 3-62 (Labuschagne), 4-68 (Green), 5-123 (Short), 6-145 (Peake), 7-179 (Renshaw), 8-199 (Ellis), 9-200 (Sangha)

BOWLING: Shaheen 6-0-19-1 (2w), Haris 5.1-0-24-1 (2w), Abrar 10-0-44-2 (1w), Arafat 10-1-32-5 (1w), Shadab 8-0-54-0, Salman 5-0-21-1 (1w)

PAKISTAN:

Sahibzada Farhan c Short b Sangha28

Maaz Sadaqat c Short b Kuhnemann8

Babar Azam b Ellis69

Ghazi Ghori lbw b Ellis65

Arafat Minhas not out18

Salman Ali Agha lbw b Labuschagne6

Abdul Samad not out1

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-6)7

TOTAL (for five wickets, 42.3 overs)202

DID NOT BAT: Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-25 (Maaz), 2-49 (Sahibzada), 3-176 (Babar), 4-185 (Ghazi), 5-195 (Salman)

BOWLING: Ellis 7-0-45-2 (1w), Stanlake 6-0-37-0 (2w), Kuhnemann 10-1-29-1, Sangha 10-3-31-1, Short 3-0-11-0, Renshaw 5-0-33-0, Labuschagne 1.3-0-15-1

RESULT: Pakistan won by five wickets.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Arafat Minhas

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2026