Pakistan and England are back at it in Lahore on Sunday, the fourth match of the ongoing ODI Tri-Series also featuring the host nation, and as of this writing, the chase is very much alive. Pakistan sit at 99 for 4 after 20.5 overs, needing 143 runs from the remaining 29.1 overs to complete what would be a significant step toward a tri-series final berth.
England posted 241 all out batting first, a total that would have looked a lot more imposing if not for Shaheen Shah Afridi. The left-arm quick took four wickets, cutting through England’s middle and lower order and preventing what looked at times like it could have been a far more substantial total.
Ben Duckett was the one England batter who really cashed in, bringing up a century that, on another day, might have been the headline of the match. Instead, with Afridi doing damage at the other end and England losing wickets in clusters, Duckett’s hundred ended up more of a rescue act than a launching pad, the kind of lone standout performance that papers over a collapse rather than preventing one.
Chasing 242 to win, Pakistan haven’t had the smoothest start either. They’ve lost 4 wickets inside the first 21 overs, with the fall of wickets reading 74 for 4 at one stage, a position that would’ve had Pakistan’s dressing room a little nervous given how quickly the innings had started to wobble.
Salman Agha and Hasan Nawaz have since steadied things, putting together a 25-run partnership to help settle the innings back down. Agha’s looked the more fluent of the two, finding boundaries early in his innings, while Nawaz has taken a little longer to get going but is still there, which at this stage of a chase is often just as valuable as quick runs.
England’s bowling has been a mixed bag through the chase so far. Jamie Overton has been the pick of the attack, picking up a wicket while conceding at a reasonable rate, while Liam Dawson has bowled tight early overs without quite finding the breakthroughs England need to really put Pakistan under pressure.
This tri-series has already produced some genuine drama. Pakistan opened with a win in the first match, then followed it up with an 87-run victory over England in the second match, a game defined by an extraordinary all-round performance from Arafat Minhas, who became only the third male Pakistani cricketer to score a fifty and take a five-wicket haul in the same ODI innings.
With that kind of form already on the board, a win here in Lahore would put Pakistan in a strong position heading toward the tri-series final, while a loss would keep England’s own hopes of progressing firmly alive, depending on how the tournament’s other results shake out.
With Pakistan needing 143 off 29 overs and still holding six wickets in hand, the required run rate sits at a manageable 4.80 an over, the kind of ask that favors the batting side if they can avoid further clusters of wickets. England, for their part, will need Afridi’s new-ball magic to translate into something from their remaining bowlers if they’re going to defend a total that always looked a touch below par once Duckett’s innings wrapped up.
Check back for the final result once the match wraps up at Gaddafi Stadium.
