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Ahead of Pakistan’s ODI series against Australia at the Rawalpindi cricket stadium, the host team suffered an injury scare. During the net sessions under the floodlight, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan received a blow as a pacy delivery by his teammate Haris Rauf struck his hand.
Haris Rauf is among the pacers in the team’s current squad who are well known for generating extra pace. Under the floodlight, Rauf launched a short pitch delivery right into the right-handed batter, Sahibzada Farhan. Farhan was surprised by the pace and bounce of the delivery and went off guard.
Haris Rauf's bouncer hit Sahibzada Farhan
In the very last moment, the batter tried to leave the bouncer, but the reaction came too late, and the ball lashed on his hand. It was painful. Sahibzada Farhan screamed in pain, and the bat fell on the ground. Rauf ran towards his teammate, but the batter looked to have overcome the pain quickly.
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The incident spread panic among the Pakistan cricket fans. The opener is one of the batters who is in form in the limited-overs format. The fans got relief as Sahibzada Farhan was declared fit to face Australia in the first ODI match of the series. No major fracture occurred during the practice session when Haris Rauf's ball hit his thumb, according to claims on the social media platform ‘X’.
All doubts come to an end
The remaining doubts dissolved as soon as the Pakistan cricket team management announced the playing eleven to take on Australia. Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf are both in the line-up under the leadership of Shaheen Afridi. Babar Azam is also in the playing eleven along with the star batters like Maaz Sadaqat and Salman Ali Agha.
On the other side, Australia is up against the host with Josh Inglis as their captain. Oliver Peake earned his debut cap for the Australian cricket team in the 50-over format.
A special moment for Pakistan cricket
It is worth noting that this is Pakistan's 1000th ODI. They have become only the third team, behind Australia and India, to breach the 1000-match mark in the format. This is a historic moment for the Men in Green side.
“Yes, absolutely. It is a special occasion for Pakistan. It's a happy thing that when Pakistanis represent in ODI, it is a big achievement. So I think it is a special moment for the whole team, and we will enjoy it and push for it. Yes, absolutely. We will continue with it. We will build on the momentum and perform consistently, Shaheen Afridi said at the toss.
Pakistan vs Australia 1st ODI playing XIs:
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Babar Azam, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Abdul Samad, Shadab Khan, Arafat Minhas, Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Australia: Matthew Short, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis (capt and wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Matthew Renshaw, Oliver Peake, Nathan Ellis, Tanveer Sangha, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Kuhnemann
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