Pakistan climb to fourth in ODI rankings after England win

Pakistan have moved up to fourth place in the ICC Men’s One-Day International team rankings, overtaking Australia, after an 87-run win over England in the tri-series in Rawalpindi, Geo News and Dawn reported.

Pakistan now have 103 rating points. South Africa are third with 104, ahead of Pakistan by a single point. India remain at the top with 115 points, followed by New Zealand with 109. The jump comes after back-to-back wins in the tri-series, first against Sri Lanka and then against England at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Minhas leads the way

The left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas was the player of the evening. He first made 59 off 58 balls, hitting nine fours, and then took 6 for 40 in 8.4 overs, a career-best, to bowl England out for 215 in 38.4 overs while they chased 303. He ended the match himself with a direct-hit run-out of Gus Atkinson, after fumbling the throw first, Dawn reported.

England began the chase well. Tom Banton and Ben Duckett put on 91 without loss in 14.3 overs, with Banton making 57 off 53 balls and Duckett 45 off 46. Haris Rauf broke the stand when Fakhar Zaman held a catch at deep fine leg. Minhas then removed Banton with his third delivery and bowled England captain Harry Brook for five with a ball that gripped and straightened, leaving England on 128-3.

Naseem Shah bowled Joe Root for 33, Sam Curran fell for 27 to a top-edge off Haris, and Minhas trapped Jordan Cox leg before. He also dismissed Jamie Overton and Will Jacks, then ended his six-wicket haul by trapping Adil Rashid first ball in the 39th over.

Rescuing the innings

Pakistan had been in trouble after England chose to field. Fakhar was out first ball to Atkinson, Saim Ayub fell for eight, and Babar Azam made 34 off 52 before Jacks bowled him. Salman Ali Agha made 16, and the hosts were 81-4 and then 133-5.

Hasan Nawaz and Minhas added 78 off 74 balls for the sixth wicket to turn the innings around. Hasan hit 79 off 74 balls, with five fours and four sixes, and Saad Baig had earlier made 35. Faheem Ashraf then struck 39 off 26 balls, and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi hit a five-ball 10 as Pakistan reached 302-9.

Minhas said the partnership with Hasan was “crucial in rebuilding the innings” and that the pair had agreed to bat deep. “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. On his bowling, he said the slower pitch helped. “Variations are very important for a spinner as they help in deceiving the batters. I have worked on my variations,” he said.

What the captains said

England captain Brook said his side had made a promising start but lost wickets 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,” he said. He felt England had been “a bit too much circumspect against the spinners”.

Shaheen praised Hasan, Minhas and Faheem for rescuing the innings but said the top order needed to be more consistent. He called Minhas “a proper allrounder” and said the form of the young all-rounder and the fast bowlers were “good signs” as Pakistan build towards the World Cup. “As a team we have done some good things but we need to improve further,” he added.

Why it matters

Pakistan are only one point behind South Africa, so further wins in the tri-series could lift them higher in the table. The match also showed the side’s strengths and its weakness: the top order again struggled, with Pakistan 81-4 at one stage, while the lower order and the bowlers won the game. How the top order responds in the next match will say more about the team’s progress than the ranking itself.

This article draws on reporting by Geo News and Dawn.