Pakistan's Arafat Minhas Breaks 3 Decade Old Record To Rewrite History On ODI Debut

Arafat Minhas on debut for Pakistan [Source: AP]

Pakistan was all over Australia on Saturday afternoon as they took the field for the landmark 1000th ODI match in Rawalpindi to kick start the three-match ODI series.

The match saw a debutant each for both teams, including the 21-year-old Arafat Minhas, who returned to the white-ball set-up for the first time since December 2024. Despite being out of the team for a year and a half, Minhas looked unfazed on his comeback as he ran through the Aussies and etched his name into the history books.

Arafat Minhas runs riot on ODI debut

This ODI series marks the beginning of Australia's stacked schedule for the coming 12-18 months, as they played their first match since the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. They had quite a few of their main players rest for the series after a long T20 season.

The Josh Inglis-led Australia was asked to bat first by Pakistan in Rawalpindi's heat, and the spinners looked in their element, fresh after a break since their last appearance. Abrar Ahmed struck first, dismissing Alex Carey on 19(24), but the lead role was soon taken up by the debutant Arafat Minhas.

After coming in as the fourth bowler, Minhas got rid of captain Josh Inglis by trapping him in front of the wickets at 13.3. He backed it up by Marnus Labuschagne's wicket at 13.5 in the same fashion. In the next over of his same spell, he cleaned up Cameron Green for a duck, and suddenly the Aussies went from 61/1 to 68/4 in under 3 overs.

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When he came back in the 27th over, he dismissed the well-set Matthew Short at 55(76), and subsequently Nathan Ellis in the death overs.

With this five-wicket haul, he became the Pakistan bowler with the best figures on ODI debut. Previously, no other Pakistan bowler had picked five wickets on debut in ODIs.

Best bowling figures for Pakistan on ODI debut

Arafat Minhas broke a 32-year-old record held by Zakir Khan, who picked 4/19 against New Zealand in Peshawar.

(Best figures on ODI debut for Pakistan)

Australia struggle without mainstays

The clash in Rawalpindi was a much-anticipated match for many as the Aussies try to test their second line of defence in the build-up to the upcoming ICC Men's World Cup in 2027.

This series saw the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc out of the team, among other big names, which opened up space for some fresh faces.

The teenage prodigy, Oliver Peake, was handed his international debut at just 19, and Billy Stanlake made his long-awaited return since 2019. With Adam Zampa out of the XI, Tanveer Sangha also came back to the team for the first time in over a year.

However, the players couldn't handle spin on the day, apart from Minhas. Abrar Ahmed took two wickets, and Salman Agha, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi got one wicket each. At the end of the innings, Australia only scored 200 runs in 44.1 overs.

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