ODI Tri-Series: All-round Minhas helps Pakistan crush England
What's the story
A stellar all-round show from Arafat Minhas helped Pakistan thrash England in the second match of the ongoing ODI tri-series. He scored an impressive 59 runs off 58 balls and then took six wickets, leading his team to an emphatic 87-run victory in Rawalpindi. The match saw Pakistan post a total of 302 runs after losing half their side for just 133 runs.
Game changer
Pakistan post a strong total after a shaky start
Pakistan were off to a shaky start with Fakhar Zaman being dismissed on the first ball of the contest.
Babar Azam (34 off 52) started well but was eventually castled by Will Jacks as England took control of the match after Salman Agha's top edge while attempting a slog sweep left Pakistan reeling at 81/4.
The finishing trio of Hasan Nawaz, Minhas, and Faheem Ashraf then helped Pakistan breach the 300-run mark.
Comeback
A solid partnership between Nawaz and Baig
Nawaz (79 off 74) and Saad Baig (35 off 54) rebuilt Pakistan's innings with a 78-run partnership.
The former hit two sixes in three balls to bring up his fifty.
Despite losing Baig to Gus Atkinson, Nawaz kept the momentum going until Jamie Overton ended his innings with an excellent yorker.
Minhas then partnered with Faheem Ashraf as they went on a boundary-hitting spree, putting England under pressure toward the end of their innings.
The latter scored 39 off just 26 balls.
Turnaround
England lose momentum after strong opening
England's openers started their chase aggressively, with Tom Banton (57 off 53) and Ben Duckett (45 off 46) putting up a 91-run partnership in no time.
However, Pakistan's Haris Rauf gave them the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Duckett for 45 runs.
Minhas then struck again by taking out a well-set Banton, triggering an England collapse that saw them lose wickets at regular intervals.
Match summary
Minhas's 6-fer seals the deal for Pakistan
Despite a brief resistance from Joe Root (33 off 35) and Sam Curran (27 off 39), England's innings crumbled under pressure.
Naseem Shah took out Root while Curran miscued a pull shot to leave at a crucial juncture.
The last five wickets added just 38 runs as Minhas wreaked havoc with the ball, claiming six wickets for just 40 runs in his spell.
As a result, the Brits were folded for 215 in just 38.4 overs.
Stats
Key batting numbers for Nawaz, Minhas
Nawaz scored a 74-ball 79 with the help of five fours and four sixes.
Nawaz, who made his ODI debut in 2025, slammed his second half-century, as per Cricinfo.
He now has 229 runs from six ODIs at an average of 57.25.
Minhas's 59 off 58 balls was laced with nine fours.
This was his maiden ODI fifty.
In five ODIs, he now has 137 runs at an average of 34.25. He made his debut earlier this year.
Information
Three-fer for Baker
Sonny Baker was the pick of the England bowlers, finishing with 3/65 from nine overs. This spell took him to four wickets across three ODIs, though his economy is a poor 8.40. Meanwhile, Gus Atkinson's 2/35 from seven overs took him to 23 wickets from 17 ODIs (ER: 6.04).
Information
Banton's third ODI fifty
Banton hit five fours and two sixes en route to her 53-ball 57. This knock took him to 438 runs across 10 ODI innings at 43.80. His tally now includes three fifties and a hundred.
Minhas
Minhas scripts record with six-fer
Minhas finished with six wickets for just 40 runs in his 8.4-over spell.
Waqar Younis (7/36 at Leeds, 2001) and Umar Gul (6/42 at The Oval, 2010) are the only other Pakistan bowlers to claim six or more wickets against England in an ODI.
Notably, this was Minhas's second five-wicket haul across five ODIs.
His tally now reads 13 wickets at an economy of 4.16.