Arafat Minhas’s fifty and six-for help Pakistan crush England by 87 runs

Left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas produced a remarkable all-round display as Pakistan defeated England by 87 runs on Tuesday, 20 October, in Rawalpindi to make it two wins from two in the ODI tri-series that also features Sri Lanka.

The 21-year-old made 59 from 58 balls, his maiden international half-century, and then returned career-best figures of 6 for 40 as England were bowled out for 215 in 38.4 overs in reply to Pakistan’s 302 for 9. The day-night match began at 1:30 pm IST.

Pakistan recover from 133 for 5

England captain Harry Brook chose to field, expecting dew to help his side chase later in the evening. The move appeared to work early on. Fakhar Zaman was caught by Joe Root at midwicket off the very first ball of the match from Gus Atkinson, and Pakistan slipped to 133 for 5 in the 28th over.

Hasan Nawaz turned the innings around. He hit his first ball from Adil Rashid for six and went on to make 79 from 74 balls, sharing a stand of 78 for the sixth wicket with Minhas, before Jamie Overton bowled him with a yorker. Minhas then added 72 with Faheem Ashraf, who made 39, and Haris Rauf pushed the total past 300 off the final ball.

England were let down by their fielding. The BBC counted three dropped catches, two of them by wicketkeeper Jordan Cox, including a chance off Minhas when he was on 12. Sonny Baker was the best of the bowlers with 3 for 65.

Minhas spins England out

The chase began well. Tom Banton and Ben Duckett put on 91 for the first wicket, and England were 117 for 1 after 18 overs, according to Gulf News. Duckett fell for 45 and Banton for 57, after which the innings fell apart.

Minhas bowled Brook for five with a ball that turned sharply, and Naseem Shah bowled Root for 33. Minhas later had Cox leg-before for 18 and had Overton caught at long-on, then removed Will Jacks and Rashid. He also ran out Atkinson to finish the match. Gulf News reported that England lost their last nine wickets for 98 runs.

The BBC said no Pakistani spinner had ever returned better ODI figures against England than Minhas did. ESPNcricinfo noted that he is only the third Pakistani to score a fifty and take five wickets in the same ODI. Gulf News added that this was only his fifth ODI and his second five-wicket haul, after five for 32 on debut against Australia in May.

“We were a little too careful against the spinners especially,” Brook told the BBC afterwards, adding that his side were content with the target at the halfway stage.

What it means for the final

Pakistan top the table with four points from two games and a net run rate of 1.240, according to ESPNcricinfo. Sri Lanka and England have yet to get off the mark after losing one game each. The BBC described the hosts as already close to securing a place in the final.

England and Sri Lanka meet next in Rawalpindi on Thursday, 22 October, with both looking for a first win. The tournament then moves to Lahore, where Pakistan play England on Sunday, 25 October, and Sri Lanka on Tuesday, 27 October, before England face Sri Lanka again on Thursday, 29 October. The final is set for Lahore on Saturday, 31 October. All matches are scheduled to begin at 1:30 pm IST.

The result does not involve Afghanistan or Bangladesh, who are playing in a separate ODI tri-series in the UAE. Their match in Sharjah is scheduled for 5 pm IST on Wednesday, 21 October, and has no effect on the Pakistan tri-series standings.

For England, the defeat was the first match of a long winter and part of their build-up to next year’s 50-over World Cup. The BBC noted that the team were missing Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Jacob Bethell.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo (match report), ESPNcricinfo (fixtures and table), BBC Sport, Gulf News