Hambantota (Web Desk): Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 142 runs in the first one-day international (ODI) of the three-match series at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka's Hambantota.
After winning toss, Pakistan decided to bat firs and set 202-run target for Afghanistan.
In reply, Afghanistan were all out for just 59 runs in 19.2 overs.
The Green Shirts suffered early losses Fakhar Zaman was removed for two and skipper Babar Azam departed for duck.
However, Imam-ul-Haq’s notable contribution of 61 runs provided stability. Shadab Khan’s contribution of 39 and Iftikhar Ahmed’s 30 runs also added to the scoreboard.
Haris Rauf, who took five wickets, was declared man of the match.
Shaheen claimed 2 wickets in two balls in his second over to set the tone for Pakistan during Afghanistan's batting.
Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan bagged one wicket each.
Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the top run-scorer for Afghanistan with 18 runs.
The second match of the series will be played at the same venue at 2:30pm (Pakistan Standard Time) on Thursday.
Teams
Pakistan: Imamul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam(C), Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Aga, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zardan, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Abdul Rehman, Ikram Ali.
