After the embarrassment of their English summer this was a welcome sight for Pakistan. A contest in front of their own, no Ollie Robinson to wobble down a lethal Dukes ball, and a format they are far more comfortable with. The result was an impressive victory against England, who fell 87 runs short in their first match of this one-day international tri-series.
At the centre was Arafat Minhas, playing only his fifth ODI but already making a serious splash, finishing with astounding figures of six for 40. The 21-year-old began with a half-century from No 7, resuscitating Pakistan’s innings alongside another newcomer, Hasan Nawaz, as 81 for four turned into a total of 302. Minhas’ left-arm spin was next, and he accounted for Harry Brook with a magical delivery as England crumbled, a decent position of 165 for three turning into 215 all out.
Minhas was the closer, showing off another skill: he pulled off a direct hit to run out Gus Atkinson and end the game with 11.2 overs left. Nawaz performed the first rescue act after a lethargic start by Pakistan with the bat. Fakhar Zaman chipped the first ball of the innings to midwicket, while the other opener, Saim Ayub, was bounced out for eight by Sonny Baker.
The ball pinged off Babar Azam’s middle against the quicks, but the early introduction of Will Jacks’ off-spin halted the flow. He fell innocuously, bowled by Jacks for 34 while trying to clip off the back foot. Salman Agha, meanwhile, continued his bizarre story arc over the last two months.
A fill-in captain for the Headingley Test in August, Agha was dropped from Pakistan’s lineup for the second Test and then discarded from the squad for the third. He returned home to hit a triple hundred in first-class cricket, lost the captaincy of Pakistan’s T20 team, then struck a matchwinning ton against Sri Lanka on Sunday in the tri-series opener. A confident start here was quickly followed by a strange dismissal, a full toss by Adil Rashid top-edged for a simple grab in the deep.
Nawaz immediately welcomed Rashid’s flight, sending the ball down the ground for six, his first of three against the veteran legspinner. The 24-year-old, six ODIs into his career, has plenty of power, and he built valuable stands with Saad Baig and Minhas to make up for the failings at the top. Nawaz, dropped on 28 by Atkinson, closed his bashing on 74, the economical Jamie Overton surprising him with an 87mph yorker.
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