Shadab scripts a miracle as Pakistan stun England with record 89-run last-wicket stand

Pakistan stunned England by one wicket in a tri-nation series group match at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Sunday, and the architect of the miracle was Shadab Khan, who struck an unbeaten 113 off 96 balls from No.8 and shared an unbroken 89-run tenth-wicket stand with Haris Rauf to carry his side home. It is the highest last-wicket partnership in a successful ODI chase. Pakistan won the toss and fielded, and Shaheen Shah Afridi's new-ball burst tore through England's top order. England were 19 for 3 inside five overs, with Banton out for 4, Root for 5 and Brook run out for 1. Ben Duckett and Sam Curran rebuilt with a 126-run fifth-wicket stand. Duckett made 105 off 111 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes, his fifth ODI century. But after that stand England collapsed from 145 for 4 to 242 all out, losing six wickets for 97 runs. Curran's 42 off 52 was slow for a No.5 or 6 in a 50-over game, and England never found their acceleration phase. Shaheen took 4 for 46 in 8.4 overs and reached 150 ODI wickets, the best bowling display of the match. Pakistan's chase was in similar trouble. They were 31 for 3 in seven overs, with Fakhar Zaman out for 10, Saim Ayub for 6 and Babar Azam for 10. Saad Baig made a brisk 32 off 22, but Pakistan slid to 154 for 9 in the 34th over. Only Haris Rauf remained, not a batter known for his skills. Shadab held one end and kept scoring. Haris made 7 not out off 19 balls, meaning Shadab scored about 92 percent of the partnership. His innings included 13 fours and 5 sixes, with 82 of his 113 runs coming in boundaries. Pakistan reached 243 for 9 in 47.1 overs, winning with 17 balls to spare. The win was special for Pakistan in several ways. A rotated seam attack, including debutant Razaullah for the injured Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, bowled England out inside 48 overs. Shadab, picked as the spin-bowling all-rounder in place of Faheem Ashraf, won the match with his secondary skill. That he had been outside the first-choice XI was itself a form signal. The victory also became a state narrative, with the president and prime minister issuing statements praising the team. Analytically, the one-wicket margin is a misleading summary. For roughly 75 percent of the chase Pakistan were the clearly inferior batting side. The result reflects one extraordinary individual innings and an English death-phase breakdown, not superior team performance. England lost the match in the middle-to-late overs of both innings, not in the powerplay. The 19 for 3 start was survivable, and it was survived to 145 for 4. The terminal failures were not converting that platform into 280-plus and conceding 89 to a No.8 and a No.11. With nine down, England had no reason to keep catchers in, and tactical conservatism helped Shadab. A tenth-wicket stand of 89 is a low-probability event, not a repeatable tactic. The original report gives no pitch information, but scores of 242 and 243 suggest it was not a 320-par belter. Four wickets between Dawson and Arafat Minhas (2-26) point to some grip or turn. Dew and day-night status are not stated, so the value of the toss cannot be evaluated. What is clear is that both top orders lost three wickets inside seven overs, pointing to early assistance and genuinely good new-ball bowling on both sides. For England the defeat will hurt. Despite Duckett's century and the 126-run stand with Curran, they were bowled out in the 48th over. Failing to accelerate through the middle overs and conceding 89 to the last pair are errors with no easy fix. For Pakistan the win is glorious, but it should not hide the fragility of the top order. The real test will be whether the team can win without such miracles.