‘As good a trio as any in world cricket’: Bhogle lauds Pakistan’s pace battery

Renowned Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle has heaped praise on Pakistan’s fast bowling after the latter’s superb display during the first ODI against Afghanistan on Tuesday.

Haris Rauf claimed a five-wicket haul as Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 142 runs in the first ODI of the three-match series.

Chasing a target of 202 runs, Afghanistan were dismissed for only 59 runs in 19.2 overs. This was Afghanistan’s second-lowest score in ODIs as Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Shaheen claimed two wickets in two balls in his second over to set the tone for Pakistan during Afghanistan's batting. Naseem Shah also bagged one wicket.

In a post on microblogging website X, formerly known as Twitter, Bhogle said Pakistan’s fast bowling trio are among the best in the world.

“Pakistan are sending out a strong message with their fast bowling. As good a trio as any in world cricket. And this, in spite of the usual comings and goings in the administration,” Bhogle said on Tuesday.

Afghanistan narrowly avoided their ODI lowest total of 58 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah in 2016.

"Haris´s spell was game-changing," said Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who led his team to a fifth win over Afghanistan in as many games.

"We wanted to put 250 but unfortunately fell short so we needed wickets and they were given to us by our fast bowlers."

Azam said he was not worried over his batting failure after being trapped lbw by Rahman for a third-ball duck.

"Not scoring is no pressure. I always learn from my mistakes. Sometimes you score and sometimes you don´t, it´s cricket. We want to stay positive."

Shahidi said it was a missed opportunity for Afghanistan to beat their neighbours.

"It was a chaseable target," he said. "I think our shot selection in the beginning was not good enough and because of that we lost some wickets."

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