Pakistan snatch victory from jaws of defeat

• Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf script incredible last wicket stand
• Pakistan qualify for final of ODI Tri-Series

LAHORE: In one of the craziest turnarounds in the history of ODI cricket Pakistan pulled off a stunning one-wicket win over England at the Gaddafi Stadium here yesterday to enter the final of the ODI Tri-Series, with a match in hand.

Chasing 242 for victory Pakistan lost their ninth wicket at 154 and England had the game all but wrapped up. But one man refused to give up. Shadab Khan took upon himself to rally the team to a sensational victory scoring his maiden hundred in any format. With last man Haris Rauf, Shadab produced the highest tenth wicket stand in a successful run chase in ODIs – 89* off 80 balls to beat the previous highest of 64* by West Indies pair Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts against Pakistan in the 1975 World Cup.

Pakistan needed 88 to win when Rauf came to the crease. But he hung in there eventually finishing on 7* off 19 balls which included the winning hit for four. Shadab dictated terms from the other end. His maiden ODI hundred was a scintillating, match-winning effort, as England snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for the second match running.

What followed was simply extraordinary, no adjective could do justice to it. From the 36th to the 42nd over, Shadab hit at least one boundary in every over while ensuring Rauf faced no more than two balls per over. When Shadab was on 97, another drama unfolded. He was given out lbw and everyone thought the game was over. But, to everyone’s surprise, UltraEdge picked up a faint inside edge, overturning the decision. Perhaps it was a message from the cricketing gods that this was destined to be Shadab’s day. While tempers flared around him, Shadab remained calm, brought up his maiden international century, and kept finding the boundary with remarkable ease to see Pakistan home.   

England put into bat first were cruising, riding on Ben Duckett’s century until left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas was introduced into the attack in the 29th over as there were two left-handers. He removed Duckett for 105 (111 balls, 10 fours, 2 sixes) and England lost a flurry of wickets to be reduced to 201-9. However, a 40-run stand between Gus Atkinson and Henry Crocombe, pushed the total to 241.

Shaheen Afridi set the tone upfront by striking twice in two overs to remove Tom Banton and Joe Root cheaply. Harry Brook, coming off a magnificent double-hundred, was kept quiet and dismissed for 1, thanks to a one-handed pick up and bullet throw from Razaullah. Jordan Cox became the fourth England batter to get dismissed in single-digits as he steered one straight to wide slip. At 52-4, Duckett and Sam Curran stitched an important 93-run stand, But Afridi came back and broke it by bouncing out Curran for 42 (52 balls, 5 fours). Duckett gave a half-chance when he was on 7 when he top-edged a pull off Razaullah and Haris Rauf misjudged by coming in. The left-hander took advantage of it to record his fifth ODI century.

In perfect batting conditions England were left to rue a missed opportunity of posting a big score. They failed to last all 50 overs as Pakistan bowled them out for a below par score with 20 balls spare. Although England›s last pair frustrated Pakistan, all in all it was an outstanding performance from Pakistan. They were brilliant with the ball and sharp in the field.

Scores: 

England 241 (46.4) (Ben Duckett 105, Sam Curran 42, Gus Atkinson 36*, Shaheen Afridi 4/46, Razaullah 2/38, Arafat Minhas 2/26), lost to Pakistan 243-9 (47.1) (Saad Baig 32, Salman Agha 26, Shadab Khan 113*, Gus Atkinson 2/62, Jaimie Overton 3/43, Liam Dawson 2/30)