Pakistan win toss, bat against Afghanistan in first ODI

Hambantota: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat in the first one-day international against Afghanistan in Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

This is the first bilateral series between the two teams and comes as preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup tournaments.

The remaining two matches are in Colombo on Thursday and Saturday.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka co-host the Asia Cup from August 30, while India hosts the World Cup from October 5.

Teams

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman

Umpires: Nitin Menon (IND) and Ahmed Shah Durrani (AFG)

TV umpire: Sharfuddoula (AFG)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)