Star-class all-round performance by Minhas knocks England over

• Pakistan ODI Tri-Series

RAWALPINDI: A star-class all-round performance by 21-year-old Arafat Minhas who scored a fifty and took six wickets with his left-arm spin saw Pakistan defeat England by 87 runs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium yesterday and secure back to back wins in the Pakistan ODI Tri-Series.

On Sunday, Pakistan began the Tri-Series with a win against Sri Lanka and now have one foot in the final.

England began their chase of 303 brightly but it ended in complete disaster as they were bowled out for 215 in 39 overs. Ben Duckett (45 off 46 balls, 8 fours) and Tom Banton (57 off 53 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) added 91 off 87 balls at better than run-a-ball. England were cruising until Duckett top-edged a pull off Haris Rauf. After that it became a slide as Arafat Minhas came onto bowl.

Having already made a 50 with the bat, he took that confidence to the ball and simply outclassed England. Banton pulled a short ball to mid-wicket, Harry Brook was left surprised by the turn which opened him up completely, Jordon Cox was trapped in front. Jamie Overton and Will Jacks holed out while Adil Rashid was also trapped in front to give Minhas his second five-fer in 5 ODIs – 6/40 off 8.4 overs. He became only the third Pakistani to perform the double of a fifty and five wickets in an ODI after Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi.

In between, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf gave their team the advantage by dismissing Joe Root and Sam Curran. It was a total team effort and a sensational comeback from Pakistan who have taken a big step towards reaching the 31 October final.

Earlier, Pakistan did well to breach the 300-run mark after they had stumbled earlier in the innings. Fakhar Zaman departed off the very first ball of the game. Saim Ayub was bounced out cheaply by Sonny Baker soon after. Babar Azam got off to a good start but he was struggling against the spin of Will Jacks and he was knocked over by the off-spinner courtesy one that turned in sharply. The centurion from the last game, Salman Agha, played one shot too many and holed out in the process to Rashid.

Pakistan were in a spot of bother at 81-4 but their lower middle-order and lower order bailed them out of trouble. Hasan Nawaz batted positively from the word go and kept finding the boundaries regularly while young Saad Baig showed good composure and grit. Baig though fell attempting a pull shot for 35 after helping Nawaz add 52 off 53 balls. Nawaz found another able ally in Arafat Minhas. Minhas was dropped twice (not easy chances) by Cox and he made his opportunities count. He batted sensibly and played the ball on its merit. Nawaz (79 off 74 balls, 5 fours, 4 sixes) and Arafat (59 off 58 balls, 9 fours) both struck fifties to help the cause of their side adding 78 off 74 balls. Faheem Ashraf’s 26-ball 39-run cameo (5 fours, 1 six) and his 72-run stand off 49 balls with Minhas in the death overs allowed Pakistan to maintain their momentum and finish with a good score. The English bowlers were particularly good in the middle overs but lost a bit of rhythm towards the fag end. It was a tough day for them, not least the returning Adil Rashid and Sam Curran. But Baker emerged with three wickets, while Jacks and Overton were excellent through the middle overs. 

Scores: 

Pakistan 302-9 (50) (Babar Azam 34, Saad Baig 35, Hasan Nawaz 79, Arafat Minhas 59, Faheem Ashraf 39, Gus Atkinson 2/35, Sonny Baker 3/65) beat England 215 (38.4) (Tom Banton 57, Ben Duckett 45, Joe Root 33, Haris Rauf 2/32, Arafat Minhas 6/40)