Pakistan were 154 for 9 chasing 242, and Shadab Khan’s 113 not out has put them in the tri-series final
Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf added 89 for the last wicket in Lahore, the biggest tenth-wicket stand in a winning ODI chase, and England have now lost all three of their games.
Oct 26, 2026
Pakistan were 154 for 9 in Lahore on Sunday, still 88 short of England’s 241, and most of a full Gaddafi Stadium had already gone home. Shadab Khan then made 113 not out off 96 balls, Haris Rauf hung around for 19 of them, and Pakistan won by one wicket with 17 balls left. The win puts them in the final of the tri-series. England, with three defeats from three, are now relying on other results.
From 103 for 6 to a record stand
Shadab walked out at No. 8 with Pakistan 103 for 6. Gus Atkinson had bowled Babar Azam for 10 inside seven overs, and Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson had squeezed the middle order. When Razaullah, one of two debutants in the match, was bowled by Will Jacks, Pakistan still needed 88 with only Rauf to come.
The two of them added 89 for the last wicket. According to Cricinfo, no tenth-wicket pair has put on more in a successful ODI chase. The previous record was 64 not out by Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts for West Indies against Pakistan at the 1975 World Cup. Shadab took almost all of the strike. He scored the first 50 of the stand to Rauf’s one, finding a boundary most overs and then picking up a single near the end of the over so his partner faced as little as possible. It was a plan England could see coming and still could not stop.
Shadab’s 113 is also the highest score by any batter at No. 8 or lower in an ODI. Indian fans will remember one of the two earlier hundreds from that position: Mehidy Hasan Miraz made his against India in 2022. Ireland’s Simi Singh, against South Africa in 2021, has the other.
The review on 97
The chase nearly ended three short of his hundred. Atkinson’s full toss hit Shadab on the pad, and he slammed his bat into the ground before the umpire had even raised his finger. He was given out lbw and reviewed. UltraEdge picked up a faint inside edge, and the decision was overturned. A few balls later he had his first ODI hundred.
With nine needed, England brought the field in for the last ball of an over to get Rauf on strike. Shadab hit Atkinson over mid-off for six instead. Rauf then drove debutant Henry Crocombe back past the bowler, Crocombe got a hand to it but could not hold on, and the ball ran away for the winning runs in the 48th over.
Duckett’s hundred was not enough
Shaheen Shah Afridi, captaining Pakistan, put England in and removed Tom Banton in the first over, his 150th ODI wicket. Joe Root went in Afridi’s next over, Harry Brook was run out going for a second, and England were 52 for 4 when Jordan Cox fell. Ben Duckett and Sam Curran put on more than 90 for the fifth wicket. Duckett made 105 off 111 balls before Arafat Minhas got him, and Atkinson’s 36 not out helped add 40 for the last wicket. Afridi finished with 4 for 46.
Cricinfo’s numbers make it worse for England. They lost to Sri Lanka by two wickets on Thursday after making 429, and losing successive ODIs by two wickets or fewer has happened to them only twice before. India have been here too: at the 2014 Asia Cup they lost by two wickets to Sri Lanka and then by one wicket to Pakistan.
What England need now
Pakistan have six points from three games. Sri Lanka have two from two and England have none. Pakistan play Sri Lanka in Lahore on Tuesday, 27 October, and England face Sri Lanka there on Thursday, 29 October. The final is on Saturday, 31 October. If Sri Lanka win on Tuesday, England are out. If Pakistan win, England have to beat Sri Lanka and overtake them on net run rate, where they are currently the worst of the three.
More chaos in this series would not surprise me, but England’s problem is bigger than the table. Since Thursday they have lost after making 429 and lost after having Pakistan nine down with 88 still needed. That is not bad luck twice.