As Gus Atkinson and Sonny Baker found themselves stranded at the same end, Arafat Minhas fumbled a throw from the deep. The run-out opportunity, with England already nine down, still stood.
Arafat gathered the ball again and his slingy left arm, which had caused havoc in the preceding overs, produced a flat, direct throw that crashed into the stumps.
It was the final act of an evening Arafat had made his own, leading Pakistan to an 87-run victory over England in the One-day International tri-series match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The run-out capped an outstanding all-round performance from the left-arm spinner, who had earlier scored a crucial half-century before claiming six wickets for 40 runs in 8.4 overs to bowl England out for 215 in 38.4 overs while chasing 303.
England began the chase confidently, with Tom Banton and Ben Duckett racing to 91 without loss in 14.3 overs. Duckett made 45 off 46 balls, striking eight fours, while Banton scored 57 from 53 deliveries with five fours and two sixes.
Haris Rauf broke the opening stand when Duckett mistimed a pull and Fakhar Zaman took the catch at deep fine leg. Arafat then changed the complexion of the chase, removing Banton with his third delivery as the opener swung across the line and picked out Shaheen Shah Afridi at midwicket.
The spinner struck again by bowling England captain Harry Brook for five with a delivery that gripped and straightened, leaving the visitors at 128-3. Naseem Shah subsequently ended Joe Root’s resistance, bowling him for 33 off 35 balls with a skidding delivery that kept low and struck the off stump.
Sam Curran and Jordan Cox attempted to keep England in contention, but the visitors’ resistance steadily faded. Curran made 27 before top-edging a pull off Haris to substitute fielder Ghazi Ghori at deep backward square leg. Cox, who scored 18, was trapped leg-before by Arafat’s quicker delivery and lost his review.
Arafat continued his dismantling of the lower order, dismissing Jamie Overton for one when Hasan Nawaz took a catch at long-on after the batter charged down the pitch.
Will Jacks briefly threatened a counterattack, striking Haris for six, but fell for 19 when he miscued Arafat to Shaheen at short midwicket.
Arafat trapped Adil Rashid leg-before for a first-ball duck in the 39th over, completing his six-wicket haul. The final run-out of Atkinson then sealed Pakistan’s commanding win.
England captain Brook acknowledged that his side had made a promising start but failed to capitalise after losing the opening partnership, with wickets falling in clusters.
“Banton and Ducky set the tone beautifully, but we lost the wickets in clumps and could not put on a partnership and ended up on the wrong side,” Brook said.
He also felt England had missed an opportunity to put Pakistan under pressure by being too cautious against the spinners.
“We were a bit too much circumspect against the spinners. We could have put them under pressure, I feel,” he said, adding that England would discuss their shortcomings and look to bounce back in the next match.
Pakistan’s total of 302-9 had been built on a spirited recovery led by Hasan Nawaz and Arafat after the hosts slumped to 133-5 following England’s decision to field.
The pair added 78 runs off 74 balls for the sixth wicket, reviving an innings that had threatened to unravel.
Hasan struck 79 off 74 deliveries, including five fours and four sixes, while Arafat contributed 59 off 58 balls, hitting nine fours.
Faheem Ashraf then provided a late surge with 39 off 26 balls, and captain Shaheen’s brisk five-ball 10 helped Pakistan cross 300.
Arafat said the partnership with Hasan had been crucial in rebuilding the innings, with the pair determined to bat deep after he came to the crease.
“We needed an important partnership when I walked in the middle. Hasan and I discussed that we need to bat deep,” he said at the presentation ceremony, speaking to Urooj Mumtaz.
After Hasan’s dismissal, Arafat took responsibility for carrying the innings forward, helping Pakistan reach a total that ultimately proved beyond England.
“I took the charge after Hasan got out and I tried to bat until the end of the innings, which helped in taking the score beyond 300,” he said.
Pakistan had made a disastrous start when Atkinson dismissed Fakhar Zaman for a first-ball duck, caught by Joe Root at short midwicket. Saim Ayub briefly counterattacked before falling for eight, skying Sonny Baker to Sam Curran in the sixth over with Pakistan at 31-2.
Babar Azam and Saad Baig attempted to stabilise the innings, but Babar’s 34 off 52 balls ended when Will Jacks breached his defences in the 15th over.
Adil Rashid then removed Salman Ali Agha for 16, caught by Atkinson at deep fine leg, leaving Pakistan at 81-4.
Saad and Hasan offered resistance, adding 52 for the fifth wicket before Atkinson returned to dismiss Saad for 35 off 54 balls.
Hasan and Arafat then took control, with Hasan finding the boundary through cover and backward point while punishing loose deliveries over the ropes. Hasan’s innings ended at 211-6 when Jamie Overton beat him with a yorker in the 40th over.
Arafat continued the recovery alongside Faheem, whose aggressive strokeplay included consecutive boundaries against Rashid and a six off Root.
Faheem fell for 39 in the 49th over, caught by Jacks at deep midwicket, while Arafat was dismissed for 59 after skying Baker to Harry Brook at cover. Shaheen’s late boundaries ensured Pakistan finished with a formidable total.
Reflecting on his performance with the ball, Arafat credited the slower surface for offering more assistance to the spinners than in the previous match and said he had worked on varying his deliveries to deceive batters.
“I have kept my plans simple. There was not much help for the spinners in the first match. The pitch was on the slower side today, which helped me,” he said.
“Variations are very important for a spinner as they help in deceiving the batters. I have worked on my variations.”
Pakistan captain Shaheen praised the contributions of Hasan, Arafat and Faheem in rescuing the innings but acknowledged that the top order needed to be more consistent.
“It was really good how Hasan Nawaz, Arafat Minhas, and Faheem Ashraf batted, but we also need our top-order to fire,” he said.
Shaheen described Arafat as a promising all-rounder whose performance was an encouraging sign for Pakistan as they build towards the World Cup.
“The form of Arafat and fast bowlers is good signs for us. Arafat is a very good talent and he is a proper allrounder, which bodes well for us. Hopefully, he will deliver for us in many more games in the future,” he said.
While pleased with aspects of Pakistan’s performance, Shaheen stressed that the team still had room for improvement ahead of the global tournament.
“As a team we have done some good things but we need to improve further as we are looking to build towards the World Cup,” he said.
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