Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan got out cheaply in the first ODI encounter between the Men in Green and Afghanistan on August 22 (Tuesday). To note, Rizwan was scalped by Mujeeb Ur Rahman after the spinner pinged the right-handed batter in front of the wickets. However, the ball tracker went on to display that the ball was just touching the stumps by a whisker.
Pakistan were bundled out for just 201 runs
After being invited to have a bowl first, Afghanistan for the first-time ever bowled Pakistan out in an ODI match. Mujeeb was the pick of the bowlers scalped wickets of both Babar and Rizwan. 4 of the top 3 got out inside 8 overs which ended up putting too much pressure on the middle order.
Imam-ul-Haq stroked a fifty and tried to resurrect the innings with a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, the Afghan spinners never allowed Pakistan off the hook. As a result, the Men in Green got bundled out for just 201 runs.
In reply, Pakistani bowlers are all over Afghanistan as they have reduced the opposition for 21/4 after the mandatory field restrictions. Express pacers Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf ran over the Afghani top-order with the left-arm pacer getting two wickets while Naseem and Rauf sharing one each. The Men in Blue will need to bat out of their skins in order to win the opening encounter.
Meanwhile, here are some Twitter Reactions on Rizwan’s dismissal:
