Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi
Former skipper Shahid Afridi rued Pakistan's uninspiring performance in the opening One-day International against hosts England, saying that the team should quickly "forget" the match.
A four-wicket haul by Saqib Mahmood set the tone as a new-look England side comprising five debutants thrashed Pakistan by nine wickets in the first One-day International. Only Fakhar Zaman (47) and Shadab Khan (30) were able to contribute with the bat as Pakistan bundled out for just 142 at the Sophia Gardens.
In reply, England hunted down the total in the 22nd over, courtesy unbeaten half-centuries from Dawid Malan and debutant Zak Crawley. The duo added 120 runs for the second wicket after Shaheen Afridi plucked the wicket of Phil Salt (7).
Malan struck eight fours in his 68 off 69 balls. Crawley also chipped in with seven fours in his 58-run effort off 50 balls.
While the Pakistan bowling unit looked ineffective, England rolled out a spectacular show, led by Mahmood's four-fer. The pacer took four wickets for 42 runs in his 10 overs. Craig Overton and Matt Parkinson took two wickets each to curb the visitors to a below-par total.
Afridi took it to Twitter to write, "We should forget this match as soon as possible! Pakistan I am sure are not as bad, come on boys let's fight back strong at Lord's on Saturday. Well played England, that was a top performance from a new-look side."
The second ODI will be played at Lord's on July 10.
