Colombo: Superb bowling effort by Shadab Khan (3-42), Shaheen Shah Afridi (2-31) and Faheem Ashraf (2-43) after half-centuries by skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan (67) helped Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 59 runs and win their three-match series 3-0 here on Saturday.
The superb all-round performance that led to Pakistan’s clean sweep against Afghanistan saw them overtake Australia for the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings.
After a brief sojourn with the pole position in May, a series whitewash over Afghanistan helped Pakistan return to the No. 1 spot in the Men’s ODI Rankings.
Pakistan went into the third and final ODI leading 2-0 and defeated their neighbours after a solid second half of the innings with the bat.
Despite a stutter in the middle with the bat, Pakistan finished strong on a slow pitch, making 268 with Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam scoring half-centuries.
In reply, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf snared two early wickets before the spinners struck at regular intervals to keep Afghanistan in check.
Mujeeb ur Rahman struck the fastest half-century for Afghanistan in ODI cricket history for a late fightback. He hammered a 26-ball half-century to improve upon Rashid Khan’s record of reaching fifty in 27 balls against Ireland. But his 37-ball 64 was not enough as Pakistan had too much on board for Afghanistan to win. Shadab finished with three wickets to his name as Pakistan completed a whitewash.
Brief scores: Pakistan 268/8 in 50 overs (Babar Azam 60, Mohd Rizwan 67, Agha Salman 38 not out; Gulbadin Naib 2-36, Fareed Ahmad 2-70) beat Afghanistan 209 all out in 48.4 overs (Mujeeb Ur Rahman 64, Shahidullah 37; Shadab Khan 3-42, Shaheen Afridi 2-31, Faheem Ashraf 2-43). IANS
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