Pakistan pulled off one of the great ODI chases of recent years on Sunday, beating England by one wicket at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, to go 3-0 in the tri-series and seal a place in Saturday’s final. Chasing 242 for victory, the hosts had slumped to 154 for 9 before Shadab Khan, batting at number eight, crafted an unbeaten 113 off 96 balls and added an unbroken 89 with last man Haris Rauf to drag Pakistan over the line in 47.1 overs.
England had posted 241 all out in 46.4 overs after being sent in, built around Ben Duckett’s 105 off 111 balls — his fifth ODI century and first against Pakistan — and a 93-run fifth-wicket stand with Sam Curran (42). Gus Atkinson’s unbeaten 36 off 28 balls, including three sixes, lifted England from a shaky middle order after they had slipped to 52 for 4. In reply, Pakistan’s top order fell apart almost immediately, losing Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub and Babar Azam inside the first seven overs for just 31 runs, according to Geo News.
| Team | Score | Overs | Key Contributors |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 241 all out | 46.4 | Ben Duckett 105, Sam Curran 42, Gus Atkinson 36* |
| Pakistan (won by 1 wicket) | 243/9 | 47.1 | Shadab Khan 113*, Haris Rauf 7* |
| Pakistan bowling | 4/46, 2/26, 2/38 | — | Shaheen Shah Afridi, Arafat Minhas, Razaullah |
The middle order fared little better. Saad Baig’s quick 32 and a fighting 26 from captain Salman Ali Agha briefly steadied things, but wickets kept tumbling, and Pakistan were 154 for 9 in the 34th over, still needing 88 more runs, after Razaullah was bowled by Will Jacks. That is when Shadab Khan took over, farming the strike and finding the boundary repeatedly while Rauf, playing as the last man, held firm at the other end.
On 97, Shadab Khan was given out lbw to Gus Atkinson, but a Pakistan review overturned the decision after UltraEdge showed a faint inside edge — reprieving him just short of what would have been his maiden international century.
Shadab went on to finish unbeaten on 113 off 96 balls, with 13 fours and five sixes, becoming only the third batter in men’s ODI history to score a century at number eight or lower. Rauf, batting at number eleven, made an invaluable 7 not out off 19 balls and struck the winning boundary off Henry Crocombe. He was named Player of the Match for the innings.
The Shadab-Rauf stand of 89 runs is now the highest tenth-wicket partnership in a successful men’s ODI run chase, eclipsing the previous record of 64 set by West Indies pair Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts against Pakistan in Birmingham back in 1975 — a record that had stood for over five decades, per Geo News.
| Rank | Partnership (10th wkt, successful chase) | Teams | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 89* — Shadab Khan & Haris Rauf | Pakistan vs England | 2026 |
| 2 | 64 — Deryck Murray & Andy Roberts | West Indies vs Pakistan | 1975 |
| 3 | 57* — James Faulkner & Clint McKay | Australia vs England | 2014 |
With the bat earlier in the day, Pakistan’s bowling effort had been built around captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, who returned figures of 4 for 46 in 8.4 overs to rip through England’s top order. In doing so, he also reached 150 ODI wickets in just his 80th match, the fastest among Pakistani pace bowlers — beating the 91-match mark shared by Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar — and the second-fastest by any Pakistani bowler behind spinner Saqlain Mushtaq’s 78 matches, according to Dawn. Arafat Minhas (2/26) and debutant Razaullah (2/38) backed him up with the new ball and in the middle overs.
The result means Pakistan have now won all three of their tri-series matches and have already booked their spot in Saturday’s final at the same venue, while England, beaten in all three games, are out of contention. Sri Lanka still have a route into the final, but it depends on beating Pakistan on October 27 and then beating England on October 29 by a margin good enough to overhaul Pakistan’s net run rate. Pakistan had earlier opened their campaign with a 37-run win over Sri Lanka in the tri-series opener, and have not lost a match in the competition since.
Our Opinion
Pakistan’s cricket has had no shortage of chaos this year — selection rows, an axed Test opener, and a top order that still collapses on cue — yet matches like this one are exactly why the team keeps finding ways to stay competitive heading into a World Cup year; a tail-end stand of this magnitude says as much about depth in batting as it does about Shadab Khan’s individual class, and if Pakistan can pair that kind of resilience with a top order that doesn’t implode inside seven overs, Saturday’s final against Sri Lanka or England should be a genuine contest rather than another nervy chase from the brink.
