Pakistan's Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf celebrate after winning the tri-series one-day international cricket match against England, in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo)
The game looked set for England when Haris Rauf walked out to bat at number 11 with Pakistan at 154 for 9 in their chase of 242, still needing 88 runs to win.It looked like it was all over, and England certainly thought so.
But Shadab Khan, who came in at number eight, did the unthinkable, stitching together an unbeaten 89-run partnership for the last wicket with Rauf to take Pakistan home in Lahore on Sunday.
in the fourth ODI of the tri-series, which also features Sri Lanka.
Shadab chipped away at the target, finding a boundary in almost every over while managing to keep the strike with himself most of the time. Rauf played his part too, defending when needed and ducking and weaving as England threw everything at him.
He hung in there to finish unbeaten on seven, while Shadab dictated terms at the other end. Rauf eventually hit the winning runs and raced away with his arms raised.The unbeaten 89-run stand between Shadab and Rauf is now the highest for the 10th wicket in a successful ODI chase. The previous record was an unbeaten 64-run partnership between Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts against Pakistan at the 1975 World Cup.Shadab scored his maiden ODI century, making 113 off 96 balls in a match-winning effort that turned the game on its head as England let victory slip away.
The win took Pakistan into the tri-series final.
England had made a strong start while defending their target, with their bowlers working together to prevent Pakistan from building partnerships. Pakistan lost their top three batters — Fakhar Zaman (10 off 18), Saim Ayub (6 off 12) and Babar Azam (10 off 12) — inside the powerplay. England continued to take wickets and reduced the hosts to 154 for 9, but could not get the final breakthrough as Shadab and Rauf guided Pakistan to a memorable win in Lahore.Earlier, Pakistan captain and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi took four wickets to restrict England to 241, despite a fighting century from Ben Duckett.England, who needed a win to stay in contention for the tri-series after losing their first two matches, struggled to recover after slipping to 19 for 3 on a batting-friendly pitch.Duckett scored 105 off 111 balls, while Sam Curran made 42 during a 93-run stand for the fifth wicket. Gus Atkinson added an unbeaten 36 towards the end of the innings.Shaheen finished with figures of 4 for 46, while ODI debutant Razaullah took 2 for 38 as England were bowled out in 46.4 overs.