Pakistan skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi praised all-rounders Salman Ali Agha and Hussain Talat as well as pacer Haris Rauf after their match-winning performances sealed a tense six-run triumph over Sri Lanka in the opening ODI at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Batting first, the Green Shirts, after a shaky start, had slumped to 95/4 in 23.2 overs thanks to Wanindu Hasaranga’s triple-wicket spell.
However, a 138-run fifth-wicket partnership between Agha and Talat anchored their innings, while an unbeaten 66-run stand between the former and Mohammad Nawaz eventually took them to a formidable total.
Agha remained the top scorer for the Green Shirts with an unbeaten century, making 105 off 87 deliveries with the help of nine fours, followed by Talat, who made a 63-ball 62, while Nawaz chipped in with 36 not out from 23 balls.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Shaheen revealed that the hosts were initially in contention to register around 250 on the board but credited Agha and Talat who took them close to the 300-run mark.
“The players played well. The way we started and the early loss of wickets… credit goes to Agha and Talat,” Sahin said.
“The way we started with the bat, our dot percentage was very high. We were trying to score 250-260 as we started but 300 is a big total,” he added.
The second innings followed the same pattern as Sri Lanka were in a dominant position till the completion of 11 overs, but Pakistan were forced to come back through paceman Rauf, who halted their progress with three wickets in his two overs.
Harris eventually returned economical bowling figures of 4/49 in his 10 overs, while fellow pacer Naseem Shah and fast bowler Faheem Shah provided valuable support by taking two wickets each, helping Pakistan successfully defend the total and fend off Sri Lanka by six runs.
“But more credit goes to Harris Rauf; the way he started was really awesome. Harris is always a man of the match for Pakistan. He was our leading player in white-ball cricket. Harris is our key bowler,” Sahin continued.
Notably, Harris’ fourth wicket came with the support of Babar Azam, who pulled off a stunning one-handed leap to dismiss Sadeera Samarawickrama.
“Babar’s catch was like Superman,” Sahin said of the one-handed blinker to end his post-match interview with a smile.
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