Shadab Khan's Unbeaten Century Steals One-Wicket Win for Pakistan Over England in Lahore

Pakistan pulled off a stunning one-wicket victory over England in a One-Day International in Lahore on Sunday, with all-rounder Shadab Khan hitting an unbeaten century after the hosts had seemed beaten. The result sends Pakistan into the final of the tri-nation series.

Chasing 242, Pakistan were 154-9 and England were close to their first win of the series. Shadab then joined fast bowler Haris Rauf for the last-wicket stand and turned the match around. The 28-year-old finished on 113 not out from 96 balls, while Rauf made 7 not out from 19. Their partnership is the highest last-wicket stand in a successful ODI run chase.

England had earlier leaned heavily on Ben Duckett, who scored 105 from 111 balls for his fifth ODI century. After Arafat Minhas dismissed him, the innings faded as Shaheen Afridi bowled well, finishing with 4-46 after removing Henry Crocombe. A last-wicket pair added 39, and England were bowled out for 241 in 46.4 overs, a below-par total.

Pakistan's reply started badly. Jamie Overton took 3-43 and Liam Dawson took 2-19, removing Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam and Saad Baig cheaply. Pakistan slid from 74-3 to 154-9, and some of the home crowd began leaving Gaddafi Stadium after the ninth wicket fell. Shadab's own leg-before-wicket dismissal was overturned on review, and he went on to take the match away from England.

Shadab dedicated the win on social media to his mother and his wife. "Special mention for [Haris Rauf], we win only as a team and he showed that today in the partnership," he wrote.

The win offers some relief to Pakistani fans after months of poor results at global tournaments and in bilateral series. Former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez called it "an innings to remember", and Imad Wasim praised Shadab for coping with the pressure. Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews wrote on X that Shadab "won it for Pakistan out of nowhere". West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Shai Hope described the match as "absolute cinema", while former West Indies player Daren Sammy called it "another thriller", a reference to Sri Lanka's win over England on Thursday, the second-highest successful run chase in ODI history.

Captain Afridi said he was pleased with the team's overall effort, especially the finish by Shadab and Rauf. "We thought we had a lot of variation in the team, so that's why we brought Shadab in," he said. He admitted the batting order needs to improve: "We need top-order runs; we're struggling." He added: "I think tonight we'll be celebrating; tomorrow back to normal."

English commentator Nasser Hussain, speaking on Sky Sports, credited Shadab's change of approach. "The moment they changed intent, the moment Shadab said 'right we've gone one way, it's gone nowhere, we're going to play our shots', there's a lesson to be learnt," he said. He called it a "brilliant change of intent" and said one individual backed up by Rauf brought the game back. Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf praised the "fearless, aggressive" display on X, and England's Chris Woakes, alongside Hussain, noted that "a hundred not out at number eight is pretty special!"