LAHORE: Pakistan beat England by one wicket in the fourth one-day international at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday, chasing 242 to reach the final of the tri-series. Shadab Khan hit an unbeaten 113 to rescue the hosts from 154 for nine.
The match was the fourth of the one-day tri-series in Pakistan, which also involves Sri Lanka. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first, and the decision paid off as England were bowled out for 241 in 46.4 overs.
Ben Duckett top-scored for England with 105 off 111 balls, hitting ten fours and two sixes. Sam Curran made 42, and Gus Atkinson finished unbeaten on 36 down the order.
Shaheen Shah Afridi led the Pakistan bowling with four wickets for 46 runs in 8.4 overs. His fourth wicket was his 150th in one-day internationals, making him the fastest Pakistani fast bowler to reach the mark in 80 matches.
Shadab turns the match
Pakistan looked beaten when they slipped to 154 for nine in the 34th over. Shadab then shared an unbeaten 89-run stand for the last wicket with Haris Rauf, who made seven not out off 19 balls.
The partnership is the highest unbeaten tenth-wicket stand in a successful one-day chase. It passed the 64-run stand by Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts for West Indies against Pakistan at the 1975 World Cup.
Shadab reached his maiden one-day century off 96 balls, hitting 13 fours and five sixes. He was named player of the match for an innings that carried Pakistan home with 17 balls to spare.
Haris Rauf struck the winning boundary to take Pakistan to 243 for nine in 47.1 overs. The win was Pakistan’s third in three matches in the series, and it sealed their place in the final.
Early collapse
The chase had started badly for the hosts. Gus Atkinson and debutant Henry Crocombe struck early, and Pakistan were 31 for three inside seven overs.
Fakhar Zaman fell for ten off 18 balls, Saim Ayub made six, and Babar Azam was bowled for ten. Saad Baig briefly fought back with 32 off 22 balls, hitting seven fours.
Jamie Overton ended that counter-attack and finished with three wickets for 43 runs. Gus Atkinson took two for 62 and Liam Dawson two for 30, as Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Salman Ali Agha added 26, but no other batter passed 35. The hosts were still 88 runs short with only one wicket left when Shadab and Rauf came together.
Duckett holds England together
England had also started poorly, slipping to 19 for three before Duckett steadied the innings. He shared the recovery with Curran, and the pair rebuilt the innings after the early damage.
Razaullah took two wickets for 38 runs on debut, and Arafat Minhas claimed two for 26. The pair supported Shaheen as England were bowled out with 20 balls of their innings unused.
Duckett’s century was the backbone of the England total. Without his 105, the visitors would have struggled to reach 200 on a pitch that offered help to the bowlers.
Tempers flared late in the Pakistan chase, in the 46th over, when Haris Rauf exchanged words with Will Jacks. The on-field umpire stepped in quickly, and Joe Root helped calm the situation before play resumed.
What the result means
The win takes Pakistan to six points from three matches and books their place in the tri-series final on 31 October. England are still winless after three matches and now need other results to go their way.
Pakistan next play Sri Lanka in Lahore on Tuesday 27 October. England must win their last match against the islanders to keep any hope of reaching the final.
For Pakistan, the win capped a day when their captain led with the ball and their most experienced all-rounder delivered with the bat. The final at the same ground now waits, and the hosts will carry three straight wins into it.
