A breathtaking Shadab Khan century rescued Pakistan from the brink of defeat at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday, as the hosts recovered from 154 for nine to beat England by one wicket in the Pink Day match of the ODI tri-series and book their place in the final.
Chasing 242, Pakistan’s chase lay in ruins when the ninth wicket fell with 88 runs still needed. What followed was one of the great ODI finishes: Shadab Khan, batting at number eight, struck an unbeaten 113 from 96 balls and shared an unbroken 89-run last-wicket partnership with Haris Rauf, who survived at the other end and hit the winning boundary. Pakistan reached 243 for nine with 17 balls to spare, wearing the special pink kits the team donned to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
The Shadab Khan century that rewrote the record books
The stand between Shadab and Rauf is the highest last-wicket partnership in a successful run chase in ODI history. Shadab’s hundred, his first in one-day internationals and his career-best score, made him only the third batter ever to score an ODI century while batting at number eight or lower. He struck 13 fours and five sixes, farming the strike cleverly and picking off a boundary almost every over while Rauf blocked and rotated at the other end.
The innings nearly ended on 97. Given out lbw to Gus Atkinson, Shadab had already shaken hands with opponents when the review showed the faintest inside edge, and the decision was overturned. He completed his hundred in the 47th over and left the final act to Rauf, whose drive down the ground off debutant Henry Crocombe sealed a victory that had looked impossible an hour earlier. “The way Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf finished the game with the bat, I have never seen in my life an innings like that,” Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi said at the presentation. “I am really happy as a captain.”
England’s innings: Duckett stands tall, Shaheen strikes
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl, and Shaheen set the tone immediately. He removed Tom Banton for his 150th ODI wicket and then dismissed Joe Root, while a brilliant Razaullah run-out of Harry Brook left England reeling at 19 for three. Ben Duckett rebuilt the innings almost single-handedly, scoring 105 from 111 balls, his fifth ODI hundred, in a 93-run partnership with Sam Curran (42). But wickets kept falling at the other end: England slipped from 175 for six to 201 for nine, and only Gus Atkinson’s unbeaten 36, in a 40-run last-wicket stand with Crocombe, carried them to 241 all out in 46.4 overs. Shaheen finished with four for 46 and Razaullah two for 38.
A collapse, then a miracle
England’s bowlers then tore through the chase. Atkinson and Crocombe removed Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub and Babar Azam inside the powerplay, and although Saad Baig (32) briefly steadied things, Jamie Overton (three for 43) and Liam Dawson (two for 30) reduced Pakistan to 103 for six and then 154 for nine, when Will Jacks bowled Razaullah. Fans were already leaving the ground. England captain Harry Brook was gracious in defeat: “I don’t think it went wrong with the ball, to be honest. We probably didn’t quite get enough runs on the board, but the effort the boys put in with the ball and in the field was phenomenal. I couldn’t ask for any more.”
What it means for the tri-series, and for Pink Day
The win was Pakistan’s third in a row, after beating Sri Lanka by 37 runs and England by 87 runs in Rawalpindi, and it guarantees them a place in the final on October 31. Pakistan face Sri Lanka again in Lahore on October 27, while England must beat Sri Lanka on October 29 to keep their own final hopes alive. The day also carried a message beyond cricket: as we reported before the match, Pakistan wore pink jerseys for breast cancer awareness, with screening activities held around the game. It was a fitting stage for a match nobody present will forget, one that will be remembered above all for the Shadab Khan century that turned certain defeat into a world-record win, and a reminder of the team’s fighting spirit seen in our coverage of Pakistan’s win over Sri Lanka in the series opener and the 87-run defeat of England in Rawalpindi.
Sources
- Sky Sports
- Cricbuzz
- The News
- Geo Super
- Photo: Pakistan Cricket Board
Umar is an engineer by profession and a passionate writer by passion. He has a deep interest in sharing good news related to Pakistan and has been working hard to promote the positive image of his homeland. Umar has written numerous articles on various topics related to Pakistan, such as technology, sports, culture, and economy.