England began their winter tours with a sloppy 87-run defeat to Pakistan in the one-day tri-series in Rawalpindi. The visitors' mistakes opened the door for Arafat Minhas, who scored a crucial 59 with the bat and then took 6-40 with his left-arm spin.
Asked to bat, Pakistan were 190-5 in the 37th over when wicketkeeper Jordan Cox dropped Arafat on 12, one of three catches England missed. Arafat, alongside a powerful 79 from Hasan Nawaz, lifted Pakistan to 302-9.
Chasing the second-highest score ever to win an ODI at the Rawalpindi Stadium, England started rapidly, but further errors let Pakistan back in. Ben Duckett fell for 45, and Tom Banton was caught for 57 off Arafat's long hop. Arafat then bowled England captain Harry Brook for five, and Naseem Shah bowled Joe Root for 33. When Cox was lbw and Jamie Overton was caught, both off Arafat, England were floored. They were all out for 215, losing their last seven wickets for 50 runs, with Gus Atkinson run out in a calamitous finish.
Pakistan have two wins from two and are close to the final. England face Sri Lanka at the same ground on Thursday, both sides still seeking a first win. The game marks the start of a long run-in to the 50-over World Cup in southern Africa next year. England were missing Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Jacob Bethell, but a game they could have won slipped away through wasted chances.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing