RAWALPINDI: As Gus Atkinson and Sonny Baker found themselves stranded at the same end, Arafat Minhas fumbled a throw from the deep. The run-out opportunity, with England already nine down, still stood.
Arafat gathered the ball again and his slingy left arm, which had caused havoc in the preceding overs, produced a flat, direct throw that crashed into the stumps.
It was the final act of an evening Arafat had made his own, leading Pakistan to an 87-run victory over England in the One-day International tri-series match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The run-out capped an outstanding all-round performance from the left-arm spinner, who scored a crucial half-century before claiming six wickets for 40 runs in 8.4 overs to bowl England out for 215 in 38.4 overs while chasing 303.
England began confidently, with Tom Banton and Ben Duckett racing to 91 without loss in 14.3 overs. Duckett made 45 off 46 balls, striking eight fours, while Banton scored 57 from 53 deliveries with five fours and two sixes.
Haris Rauf broke the opening stand when Duckett mistimed a pull and Fakhar Zaman took the catch at deep fine leg. Arafat then removed Banton with his third delivery as the opener swung across the line and picked out Shaheen Shah Afridi at midwicket.
The spinner struck again by bowling England captain Harry Brook for five, leaving the visitors at 128-3. Naseem Shah subsequently ended Joe Root’s resistance, bowling him for 33 off 35 balls with a skidding delivery that kept low and struck the off stump.
Sam Curran and Jordan Cox attempted to keep England in contention, but their resistance faded. Curran made 27 before top-edging a pull off Haris to substitute fielder Ghazi Ghori at deep backward square leg. Cox, who scored 18, was trapped leg-before by Arafat’s quicker delivery and lost his review.
Arafat dismissed Jamie Overton for one, with Hasan Nawaz taking a catch at long-on, before removing Will Jacks (19) after the batter miscued to Shaheen at short midwicket. He trapped Adil Rashid for a first-ball duck to complete his six-wicket haul, before running out Atkinson to seal Pakistan’s victory.
Brook acknowledged that England’s promising start had been undone by a succession of wickets and their inability to build partnerships.
“Banton and Ducky set the tone beautifully, but we lost the wickets in clumps and could not put on a partnership and ended up on the wrong side,” he said. The England captain also felt his side had been too cautious against Pakistan’s spinners.
“We were a bit too much circumspect against the spinners. We could have put them under pressure, I feel,” Brook said, adding that England would review their performance and aim to bounce back in the next match.
Earlier, Pakistan had recovered from 133-5 to post 302-9 after England elected to field. Hasan and Arafat added 78 off 74 balls for the sixth wicket, rescuing an innings that had threatened to unravel.
Hasan struck 79 off 74 deliveries, including five fours and four sixes, while Arafat contributed 59 off 58, hitting nine fours. Faheem Ashraf provided a late surge with 39 off 26, and Shaheen’s five-ball 10 helped Pakistan cross 300.
Pakistan made a disastrous start when Atkinson dismissed Fakhar Zaman for a first-ball duck, caught by Root at short midwicket. Saim Ayub briefly counterattacked before falling for eight, skying Sonny Baker to Sam Curran in the sixth over, with Pakistan at 31-2. Babar Azam and Saad Baig tried to stabilise the innings, but Babar’s 34 off 52 balls ended when Will Jacks breached his defences. Adil Rashid then removed Salman Ali Agha for 16, leaving Pakistan at 81-4.
Saad and Hasan added 52 for the fifth wicket before Atkinson returned to dismiss Saad for 35 off 54 balls. Hasan and Arafat then took control, with Hasan finding boundaries through cover and backward point and punishing loose deliveries over the ropes. His innings ended at 211-6 when Jamie Overton beat him with a yorker in the 40th over.
Arafat continued alongside Faheem, whose aggressive strokeplay included consecutive boundaries against Rashid and a six off Root. Faheem fell in the 49th over, caught by Jacks at deep midwicket, while Arafat was dismissed for 59 after skying Baker to Harry Brook at cover. Shaheen’s late boundaries ensured Pakistan finished with a formidable total.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Arafat said the slower pitch had offered more assistance to spinners than in the previous match.
“I have kept my plans simple. There was not much help for the spinners in the first match. The pitch was on the slower side today, which helped me,” he said.
He also credited his variations for helping him trouble England’s batters, explaining that he had worked on disguising his deliveries.
“Variations are very important for a spinner as they help in deceiving the batters. I have worked on my variations,” Arafat said.
SCOREBOARD
PAKISTAN:
Fakhar Zaman c Root b Atkinson0
Saim Ayub c Curran b Baker8
Babar Azam b Jacks34
Saad Baig c Curran b Atkinson35
Salman Ali Agha c Atkinson b Rashid16
Hasan Nawaz b Overton79
Arafat Minhas c Brook b Baker59
Faheem Ashraf c Jacks b Curran39
Shaheen Shah Afridi not out10
Naseem Shah c Overton b Baker1
Haris Rauf not out4
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-11, W-5)17
TOTAL (for nine wickets, 50 overs)302
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Fakhar), 2-31 (Saim), 3-59 (Babar), 4-81 (Salman), 5-133 (Saad), 6-211 (Hasan), 7-283 (Arafat), 8-285 (Faheem), 9-296 (Naseem)
BOWLING: Atkinson 7-0-35-2, Baker 9-0-65-3 (3w), Jacks 10-0-45-1, Overton 10-0-38-1 (1w), Rashid 8-0-55-1, Curran 5-0-40-1 (1w), Root 1-0-12-0
ENGLAND:
T. Banton c Shaheen b Arafat57
B. Duckett c Fakhar b Haris45
J. Root b Naseem33
H. Brook b Arafat5
S. Curran c (sub) b Haris27
J. Cox lbw b Arafat18
W. Jacks c Shaheen b Arafat19
J. Overton c Hasan b Arafat1
G. Atkinson run out7
A. Rashid lbw b Arafat0
S. Baker not out1
EXTRAS (W-2) 2
TOTAL (all out, 38.4 overs)215
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-91 (Duckett), 2-120 (Banton), 3-128 (Brook), 4-165 (Root), 5-177 (Curran), 6-197 (Cox), 7-205 (Overton), 8-214 (Jacks), 9-214 (Rashid)
BOWLING: Shaheen 7-0-36-0 (1w), Naseem 7-0-46-1, Ashraf 2-0-14-0, Haris 6-0-32-2 (1w), Saim 8-0-47-0, Arafat 8.4-0-40-6
RESULT: Pakistan won by 87 runs.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Arafat Minhas
Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2026
