Pakistan had all but lost hope of winning their One-Day International (ODI) cricket match against England when all-rounder Shadab Khan walked onto the pitch to bat and stormed off it with an unlikely come-from-behind win in the bag, in front of a raucous home crowd in Lahore. The hosts were reduced to 154-9 in the chase of 242 on Sunday, and England were in sight of their first win of the tri-nation series when Shadab and fast bowler Haris Rauf came together for the last-wicket partnership. From there on, Shadab put on a run-chase masterclass, hitting an unbeaten century to give Pakistan a one-wicket victory and book a spot in the series final.
The 28-year-old launched a surprise counterattack on England, ending up with 113 not out off 96 balls alongside Rauf (7 not out off 19). Shadab and Rauf’s partnership was the highest last-wicket stand in a successful run chase in ODI history. Earlier in England’s innings, Ben Duckett was the lone batting saviour, scoring 105 off 111 for his fifth ODI century.
Once Arafat Minhas dismissed him, England looked hopeless as Shaheen Afridi’s impressive bowling cleaned up their batting lineup. He took his fourth wicket (4-46) to remove Henry Crocombe. England’s last-wicket pair added 39 to post a below-par total of 241 all out from 46.4 overs.
England then decimated Pakistan’s top order as Jamie Overton (3-43) and Liam Dawson (2-19) removed Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam and Saad Baig cheaply. The hosts ultimately slumped to 154-9, having been 74-3. By this point, England had all but secured victory as the home crowd began leaving Gaddafi Stadium after the ninth wicket fell.
Shadab stepped up to flip the script and produce the batting performance of a lifetime when he prised victory away from England, particularly after his leg-before-wicket dismissal was overturned on review. Thank you to my entire team.” The victory went some way towards restoring faith among Pakistani cricket fans, who have endured months of dismal performances at global tournaments, as well as bilateral series. It was “an innings to remember”, as former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez put it, while teammate Imad Wasim praised Shadab for handling the extreme pressure.
Praise and memes kept pouring in on social media as one user joked about making a documentary of the game, while others reiterated the need for more trilateral series in ODI format. Speaking after the match, Pakistan’s captain Afridi said he was pleased with the team’s overall performance, especially the way Shadab and Haris finished the game. I hope in the next few games we’ll bring that energy.
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