Pakistan move to No. 1 in ODI rankings with Afghan series sweep

Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman plays a shot. Photo: AFP

Pakistan moved to the number 1 spot in the ODI rankings after a commanding 59-run victory in the final ODI against Afghanistan saw them sweep the three-match series clean in Colombo on Saturday. 

This is only the second time that Pakistan summited the ODI rankings, with the first time reaching the peak last May when they beat New Zealand 4-1 in a five-match series at home. However, at that time their stay at the top only lasted for two days.  

Having won the first two matches — a resounding 142-run win in the first game followed by a thrilling one-wicket victory in the second ODI — Pakistan had already sealed the series, being played as part of the build-up to the upcoming Asia Cup. 

Electing to bat, Pakistan posted a competitive 268 for eight, thanks to fifties from skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, and a cameo from Mohammad Nawaz down the order. 

In chase of the target, Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman hit a career-best 64 off just 37 deliveries but all it did was reduce the margin of defeat as the Afghans paid for a poor start, faltering to 209 all out in 49.4 overs eventually. 

Mujeeb’s late onslaught, in which he smashed five boundaries and as many maximums, was not enough to turn the game around. Losing wickets in clusters at the top, Afghanistan found themselves in a precarious 97 for seven inside 32.1 overs. 

However, just when a big margin defeat looked imminent, Mujeeb stitched stands of 57 and 45 runs with Shahidullah and Fareed Ahmed, respectively, to take the game deep. 

Mujeeb departed in the 46th over when he went on his backfoot to flick a Shaheen Shah Afridi and ended up hitting the stumps with his legs.   

Earlier, Pakistan’s most dependable duo of Babar (60 off 86) and Rizwan (67 off 79) stitched together a 110-run third-wicket stand before Nawaz hit a 25-ball 30 and Agha Salman remained unbeaten on 38 off 31 to propel Pakistan to a commendable total.