Arafat Minhas delivered a commanding performance to lead Pakistan to an 87-run victory against England in Tuesday’s ODI tri-series match. The 21-year-old all-rounder was instrumental, contributing a crucial half-century with the bat before dismantling the English batting lineup with his left-arm spin. The 21-year-old left-hander Minhas helped Pakistan to 302-9 with 59 off 58 balls after England captain Harry Brook had won the toss and elected to field.
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, England initially kept Pakistan on the back foot at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The hosts slumped to 133-5 as the top order struggled. Joe Root secured a sharp catch to dismiss Fakhar Zaman on the very first ball off Gus Atkinson, while Saim Ayub departed for 8 after top-edging a short delivery from Sonny Baker. Nawaz, who started with a first-ball six off Rashid over long-on, got a life on 28 when Atkinson couldn’t hold onto a catch at backward square leg.
Babar Azam looked comfortable, striking three boundaries against Baker, but his innings ended at 34 when he was bowled by Will Jacks. Following this, Salman Ali Agha fell to Adil Rashid, and debutant Saad Baig provided a glimpse of his potential before being caught for 35 off Atkinson.
Pakistan’s recovery was spearheaded by Hasan Nawaz, who hammered a career-best 79, and Minhas, who posted his maiden ODI half-century.
The duo shared a vital 78-run partnership.
Nawaz, who reached his fifty in 46 balls, was eventually bowled by an Overton yorker, while Minhas was twice dropped on 42 before hitting three late boundaries against Sam Curran. Faheem Ashraf added a quick-fire 39 off 26 balls to help push the final total to 302-9. Faheem Ashraf struck 39 off 26 balls while paceman Baker grabbed two late wickets to finish with career-best figures of 3-65.
England’s pursuit began with an aggressive 91-run opening stand between Tom Banton (57) and Ben Duckett (45). However, momentum shifted when Haris Rauf removed Duckett, and Pakistan skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi introduced spin from both ends. Minhas took center stage, dismissing Banton and then bowling England captain Harry Brook for just 5. Opening pair Tom Banton (57) and Ben Duckett (45) provided England with a whirlwind start of 91 in 14.3 overs before Duckett mistimed a pull against Haris Rauf and was caught at long leg.
The collapse followed swiftly as the visitors struggled to negotiate Minhas’s spin. Joe Root contributed 33, and Sam Curran made 27, but the lower order faltered. Naseem Shah clean-bowled Root, and Minhas ran through the tail to finish with impressive figures of 6-40. He capped off the dominant display by running out Atkinson, leaving England all out for 215 with 11 overs to spare. Including the prize wicket of Brook for 5, as the visitors were bowled out for 215 with more than 11 overs to spare in their opening game of the tournament, which also features Sri Lanka, minhas then undid England’s strong reply with his left-arm spin to grab 6-40. 5, made 27 but the rest of the batters crumbled. Root’s off-stump was knocked back by Naseem Shah before Minhas hurried through the middle-order as England lost the last five wickets for only 18 runs.
By achieving a five-wicket haul alongside his half-century, Minhas joined the ranks of Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi as the only Pakistan players to achieve this feat in an ODI. England, currently 0-1, is scheduled to face Sri Lanka on Thursday, following Sri Lanka’s 37-run loss to Pakistan on Sunday.
