Arafat Minhas made 59 off 58 balls and then took 6 for 40 as Pakistan beat England by 87 runs in the ODI tri-series at Rawalpindi on Tuesday. England were 117 for 1 in the chase and lost their last nine wickets for 98.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan: Arafat Minhas, 21 and in only his fifth one-day international, did the work of two players on Tuesday night. He rescued Pakistan’s innings with his maiden ODI fifty, and he then took the ball and tore the heart out of England’s chase.
Pakistan wobble, then recover
Pakistan batted first and lost Fakhar Zaman to the first ball of the match, caught by Joe Root off Gus Atkinson. Sonny Baker removed Saim Ayub for 8, and Pakistan were 31 for 2. Babar Azam made 34 and Saad Baig 35, but Salman Agha, the centurion in the win over Sri Lanka, fell for 16 and Pakistan were 133 for 5 in the 28th over.
Hasan Nawaz and Minhas rebuilt the innings. Nawaz made 79 off 74 balls with four sixes and five fours, and Minhas hit nine fours in his 59. Faheem Ashraf added 39 off 25 balls, and Pakistan finished on 302 for 9. Baker took 3 for 65 and Atkinson 2 for 35.
England’s start, and the collapse
England made a solid start. Tom Banton made 57 off 53 balls and Ben Duckett 45 off 46, and their opening stand of 91 left England on 117 for 1 after 18 overs.
Then Minhas, a left-arm spinner, took over. England lost their last nine wickets for 98 runs and were bowled out for 215 in 38.4 overs. Root made 33, Sam Curran 27 and Will Jacks 19, while captain Harry Brook scored 5 and Adil Rashid was out first ball. Minhas finished with 6 for 40 from 8.4 overs, his career-best figures and his second five-wicket haul in five ODIs, and he also ran out Atkinson. Haris Rauf took two wickets and Naseem Shah one.
Pakistan two from two
It was Pakistan’s second win of the series after the opening victory over Sri Lanka. The tri-series runs to 31 October and ends with a final in Lahore.
Result: Pakistan 302 for 9 (50 overs; Hasan Nawaz 79, Arafat Minhas 59, Faheem Ashraf 39; Sonny Baker 3/65, Gus Atkinson 2/35) beat England 215 all out (38.4 overs; Tom Banton 57, Ben Duckett 45, Joe Root 33; Arafat Minhas 6/40, Haris Rauf 2 wickets) by 87 runs.
Competition: Pakistan ODI tri-series 2026, second match, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Tuesday 20 October 2026.
