Pakistan Vs Australia Highlights, 1st ODI: Minhas Fifer, Babar Fifty Fire PAK To 5-Wicket Victory

Good afternoon, cricket fans! This is the start of our live blog covering the Pakistan vs Australia 1st ODI in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Stay tuned for pre-match updates and playing XIs as they are announced.

• Fixture: Pakistan vs Australia 1st ODI

• Series: Australia's tour of Pakistan 2026

• Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

• Date: Saturday, May 30, 2026

• Time: 5:00 PM IST

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Babar Azam, Salman Agha, Abdul Samad, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Rohail Nazir, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Sufyan Moqim, Shamyl Hussain.

Australia: Matthew Short, Josh Inglis (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Liam Scott, Nathan Ellis, Riley Meredith, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Kuhnemann, Tanveer Sangha, Oliver Peake.

Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha has won the toss and opted to bowl first.

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Babar Azam, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Abdul Samad, Shadab Khan, Arafat Minhas, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.

Australia: Matthew Short, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis (wk) (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Oliver Peake, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Kuhnemann.

After the national anthems, Carey and Short walk out on the crease to open for Australia. Afridi with the new ball for Pakistan. Beautiful bowling from the skipper, conceding just one run from a wide in the first over.

Rauf traps Carey on the stumps, and there is a huge appeal for an LBW. Rauf convinces Afridi to take the review, but UltraEdge shows a spike, and Carey survives. There’s another LBW appeal in the final ball of the over which is not given by the umpire, but Pakistan do not take the review.

Abrar Ahmed gets the breakthrough for Pakistan, and Carey has to go! It was a terrific delivery, getting a thick outside edge of Carey and carrying straight to Salman Agha at slip. Josh Inglis is the new batter.

Despite the lack of any big overs for some time, Short and Inglis have kept stealing the singles to keep the scoreboard ticking and the run rate just under five.

Debutant Arafat Minhas gets the breakthrough that Pakistan were looking for, and it's the wicket of the dangerous Inglis! The ball hits the middle of the stump and looks like a plumb LBW, and the umpire gives it out. Inglis reviews, but ball tracker shows the delivery crashing into the leg stump. Mihas gets another just a couple of deliveries later, sending Labuschagne back for a duck. Another LBW, and another straight-forward decision for the umpire. Green is the new batter.

What a debut this is turning out to be for Mihas. It's as shorter delivery that spins quite a bit in front of Green, hitting the top of the off-stump. Green departs for a duck, and it's time for drinks. Renshaw is the new batter.

Renshaw has made a decent impact since coming on, allowing Short to take his time at the other end and reach a brilliant fifty in 66 deliveries. It's an important knock under very tough conditions, and Short raises his bat in celebration.

Pakistan get the wicket they were looking for as the wicketkeeper stumps Short off a Minhas delivery. That's the fourth wicket of the night for Minhas the debutant – what a brilliant international bow he is having. Short came charging down looking for a big hit but completely missed the length and turn, and it's an easy stumping for Ghazi Ghori. Peake is the new batter for Australia.

Pakistan's spin battery gets another wicket as Agha dismisses debutant Peake for just seven. Peake tried a cut off the backfoot but got a big edge that is taken by Ghazi Ghori. Kuhnemann is the new batter for Australia.

Renshaw brings up his fifty in style, hitting Shadab for a boundary in the first ball of the over. He is applauded by the Australian dugout and deservedly so for keeping up the run rate while wickets continued to fall at the other end.

A huge wicket for Pakistan as Abrar rattles the stumps of Renshaw! The Pakistani bowler comes around the wicket, and the delivery spins around the attempted cut shot by Renshaw, clattering against the off-stump. Ellis comes on as the new batter.

Ellis fall to Minhas’ magic as gets his fifth wicket of the night, becoming the first Pakistani bowler to get a fifer on his ODI debut. It’s another arm ball from him that does the job, hitting the top of the off stump. Sangha is the new batter.

Afridi bowls Sangha for a duck, and Rauf gets the wicket of Kuhnemann in the first ball of the next over. Australia's innings is over at 200, certainly better than what they would have expected after a horror start. Will it be a good enough score, with the dew factor coming in the second innings? A big chase awaits.

Sadaqat and Farhan have opened the chase for Pakistan, and it’s Ellis who has the ball for Australia. The Pakistan pair make a bright start, hitting a couple of boundaries in the first two overs to maintain the scoring rate at run-a-ball.

While Pakistan's chase continues, let's take a moment to applaud Arafat Minhas, the 21-year-old spinner from Multan who basically swung the momentum of the contest in favour of the hosts. He finished with figures of 5/32 in his 10 overs, becoming the first Pakistani bowler to take a fifer on his ODI debut. Minhas, who has played in four T20Is for the Green Shirts, impressed in the Pakistan Super League this season.

Kuhnemann gets the breakthrough for Australia as Sadaqat departs for eight. Sadaqat goes for a slog sweep but doesn't get enough elevation. Short at deep midwicket takes a very good catch near the boundary ropes, which is confirmed by the third umpire. Babar Azam comes on as the new batter for Pakistan.

Sahibzada Farhan was looking well-set and he was stitching a steady partnership with Babar Azam, but it is a spinner again in Tanveer Sangha who gives a breakthrough. Floated up nicely, Farhan makes room and tries to launch it downtown but slices it as the ball grips and turns. Matthew Short takes a good catch to cut short Farhan's stay. Australia have slowed down the scoring rate in the last few overs and they will look to slow them down further.

Babar Azam has taken up responsibility after the fall of the first two wickets and carried the innings on his shoulders since then. The target is not big but Babar is making sure that Pakistan doesn't have a slip up. Has dealt with the likes of Matt Short, Matt Renshaw and Nathan Ellis successfully to keep the scorecard ticking. Ghazi Ghori has supported him well.

A successful return for Babar Azam, who has reaches his half-century in 71 balls, with Ghori also inching close to his own fifty. Pakistan are slowly nearing the win, with only 66 more runs needed.

Despite a host of wickets falling in quick succession, Babar’s fifty essentially put the chase on a platter for Pakistan, and who else but tonight’s hero Arafat Minhas seals the match with a six off Labuschagne.