Pakistan Beat England by 87 Runs in Rawalpindi as Arafat Minhas Scores Maiden Fifty and Takes Six Wickets

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan beat England by 87 runs on Tuesday to make it two wins from two in the ODI tri-series, and the night belonged to 21-year-old Arafat Minhas. His 59 steadied a wobbling innings first; then his six wickets cut short England’s chase of 303, the visitors folding for 215 in 38.4 overs.

How did Pakistan recover from a poor start?

England won the toss and bowled, and for a while the call looked right. Fakhar Zaman fell to the first ball of the innings, Saim Ayub made eight, and when Babar Azam was bowled for 34 off 52 balls, Pakistan were 81 for four. Hasan Nawaz took charge from there, scoring 79 off 74 balls. Minhas added 59 off 58, Faheem Ashraf struck a quick 39 off 26 and Saad Baig made 35, carrying Pakistan to 302 for nine. Sonny Baker was England’s best bowler with three wickets.

Why did England’s fast start come to nothing?

Ben Duckett and Tom Banton gave the chase real early pace, putting on 91 for the first wicket. Haris Rauf broke the stand, Duckett top-edging a pull for 45, and Minhas took over after that. He removed Banton for 57, bowled captain Harry Brook for five with a ball that gripped and straightened, and kept striking as England lost their last seven wickets for 50 runs. Joe Root made 33 and Sam Curran 27, but neither could hold the innings together. Minhas finished with six for 40 in 8.4 overs and was named Player of the Match; he even closed the game himself, running out Gus Atkinson with a flat direct throw.

Where does the series stand now?

Pakistan top the table after beating Sri Lanka by 37 runs in Sunday’s opener and England here. England meet Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on Thursday with little room left for error, while Pakistan face England again in Lahore on October 25.