Arafat Minhas' 59 and 6/40 Power Pakistan to 87-Run Win Over England in ODI Tri-Series

Arafat Minhas starred with both bat and ball as Pakistan beat England by 87 runs in the second match of the ODI tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, October 20. The 21-year-old left-armer scored his maiden ODI half-century, 59 off 58 balls, and then took a career-best 6 for 40. Pakistan have won both of their matches in the tri-series, which also features Sri Lanka.

England captain Harry Brook won the toss and chose to field. Pakistan struggled early and slid to 133 for 5. Hasan Nawaz rebuilt the innings with a career-best 79, his second successive ODI fifty, in only his sixth ODI. He and Minhas added 78 for the sixth wicket, and Minhas hit nine fours in his innings. Faheem Ashraf (39), Saad Baig (35) and Babar Azam (34) also made useful contributions. Pakistan finished on 302 for 9. Sonny Baker took 3 for 65 for England.

England made a promising start to their chase of 303. Tom Banton made 57 off 53 balls, including five boundaries and two sixes, and Ben Duckett scored 45, taking England to 120 for 2 in 18.3 overs. Minhas then changed the match. He dismissed Banton in the 19th over, and in the 21st over he cleaned up captain Brook for just 5.

Naseem Shah bowled Joe Root, and Minhas ran through the middle order. England lost their last five wickets for only 18 runs. In the 39th over, Minhas removed Will Jacks and Adil Rashid with consecutive deliveries, and two balls later he ran out Gus Atkinson to finish the match. England were bowled out for 215 in 38.4 overs, with more than 11 overs to spare. Minhas finished with 6 for 40 from 8.4 overs and was named Player of the Match.

It is Pakistan's biggest win over England in ODIs by runs since 2005. Minhas also became only the third Pakistan all-rounder, after Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi, to score a half-century and take five wickets in the same ODI.

Pakistan had beaten Sri Lanka by 37 runs in the opening match of the tri-series. They play England again on October 25 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.