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Pakistan scripted history on Tuesday as they dismissed the Afghanistan team for just 59 runs in the first ODI of the three-match ODI series at Hambantota. Pakistan did not have a particularly great day with the bat, as they were dismissed for a below-par total of 201. In the second inning, though, Shadab Khan took a stunning catch to dismiss Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.
Afghanistan were already on the back foot in the third over itself, as they lost Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah in the third over off consecutive deliveries, and as a result, the scorecard displayed a poor score of 4-2.
Naseem Shah was bowling the fourth over when he bowled a lethal short delivery to Shahidi on the third ball. Shahidi tried to pull it but was late, as he tried to hit it over mid-wicket. But he failed, as the ball couldn’t clear the forward square leg fielder. Shadab Khan dived to his left, fully stretching his body. He caught the ball above his head once, but it slipped from his grasp, however, Shadab’s reflexes were on point, as he managed to grab the ball just in time.
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Everyone rushed towards Khan to congratulate him on the spectacular catch. The wicket was the third one amidst the collapse. They could not recover from the loss of the wicket, as they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. In the end, they wrapped up their innings with just 59 runs on the board, thus granting Pakistan, a commendable victory by 142 runs. Haris Rauf was the hero as he clinched a fifer, with career-best figures of 5/18.
