Innings break Pakistan 302 for 9 (Nawaz 79, Minhas 59, Baker 3-65) vs England
England will need 303 to win the opening match in their ODI tri-series campaign after Pakistan posted 302 for 9 in Rawalpindi.
A 79 from Hasan Nawaz and 59 from Arafat Minhas lifted the hosts to what looks a par score on a true batting surface. The pair's fifth-wicket stand of 78 breathed life into the innings after a stuttering start, with a vital 72 off 49 between Minhas and Faheem Ashraf (39) making up for lost time.
With just one half-century in five previous ODI caps, Nawaz' innings - a new career-best - underlined his potential. Likewise with Minhas, whose first international fifty provided impetus at the death.
Put in to bat by Harry Brook, with dew expected to make bowling in the second innings trickier, Shaheen Afridi hoped for an intimidating score to build on their opening victory against Sri Lanka at this ground on Sunday. With the help of the captain's unbeaten 10 off 5, Pakistan were at least able to lay down the gauntlet of a 300-plus chase, something England have not achieved since June 2025.
They visitors are a far more assured 50-over side now. It is only 23 days since the end of the English season, which Brook's men closed with a 2-1 success over fellow tri-series opponents, Sri Lanka. Their improved 50-over form was clear to see in the opening exchanges, reducing Pakistan to 81 for 4 in the 19th over.
However, they were blighted by untidy moments that allowed Pakistan to wriggle off the hook. Nawaz was dropped by Gus Atkinson on 28, failing to take an easy tumbling catch to his right at backward square leg after a tame lap off Will Jacks' bowling.
Arafat, meanwhile, was missed three times, the costliest coming on 12; Sam Curran finding a low edge that wicketkeeper Jordan Cox was unable to snare, one-handed diving to his left. The 21-year old was eventually seen off by Sonny Baker, who finished with career-best figures of 3 for 65.
England enjoyed a perfect start when Fakhar Zaman clipped the first ball of the match, from Atkinson, to Joe Root at midwicket. Pakistan were soon 31 for 2 when Saim Ayub was done over by the short ball, late on a pull off Baker that was pouched at backward square leg by Curran. Baker, expensive in his opening spell, was too quick for Ayub, who had edged a rising delivery from around the wicket beyond the dive of Cox. That the left-hander did not see another bouncer coming spoke to a lack of game awareness that blighted Pakistan's innings.
Babar Azam, for instance, struggled against Jacks, seemingly unable to negotiate what modest turn there was for the offspinner. Beaten multiple times on the outside edge, an attempt to work off the back foot left a gap between bat and pad that Jacks exploited with a skidder into off stump. It was no less than Jacks deserved as he stifled the scoring despite having only two men outside the inner circle when he was brought on as first change after six overs.
It was only when Adil Rashid was brought into the attack, after missing the home Sri Lanka series with a hand injury, that Pakistan's batters decided to use their feet. In this instance, Salman Agha greeted the legspinner's first delivery with a swift jaunt down the track to launch over cover.
Salman could not crack on as he did two days ago, his 107 against Sri Lanka was followed by a tame 16, sweeping a low full toss out to Atkinson at a wide fine leg.
That brought Nawaz to the crease, immediately improving the score with a first-ball six off Rashid, back down the ground. And he would add more strikes over the fence - responsible for four of Pakistan's five sixes - in a 74-ball stay as smart as it was enterprising.
Together with Saad Baig, a 52-run stand added a much-needed pillar of stability. And though the 19-year-old Baig became the second top-four batter bounced out - this time by Atkinson - Nawaz was in his groove.
A late cut midway through the 32nd over for a seventh boundary took him to 50 off 46 deliveries. And by the time England had shifted to one ball from the 34th over, introducing Curran, back in the XI after recovering from a groin injury that ruled him out of the end of the summer, Minhas was beginning to hold his own.
A trio of fours in Curran's third over hinted at an acceleration through the final straight. That did not come to pass immediately, as an 87mph yorker from Jamie Overton struck the base of Nawaz's stumps, as the batter stepped to the leg side to manufacture a boundary option through the covers.
Ashraf, though, was able to get the charge going, striking back-to-back boundaries off Jacks and Rashid. Despite showing his hand by attacking spin down the ground, Brook opted to bring Root on for the 46th over, which was duly taken for 12, including a slap over wide long-on by the left-handed allrounder.
Before Arafat moved to fifty from 53 deliveries with a gorgeous cover drive off Baker, he was the subject of consecutive reprieves, both off Curran. A top edge on 42 fell was taken by a backpedaling Cox, only for the ball to bounce out of his one-handed grasp. The next delivery, on 44, saw a botched relay catch on the long-on boundary when Tom Banton under-armed over the head of Ben Duckett.
Two more fours through and over the extra cover would be his lot, as Baker dragged his length back, went straighter and forced an uppish shot that nestled into the hands of Brook at mid-off.
Curran, at the fourth attempt, was finally able to register a wicket when Ashraf found deep midwicket before Baker had Naseem Shah caught at long on for his third. Haris Rauf, though, muscled the last ball of the innings through midwicket to breach 300.