Pakistan’s rising star Arafat Minhas delivered a performance for the ages at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, becoming only the third men’s cricketer from Pakistan to score a half-century and claim a five-wicket haul in the same One-Day International.
Achieving a 50-plus score and taking five or more wickets in a single ODI remains one of the rarest feats in men’s international cricket. With this display, Minhas becomes just the third Pakistani man to accomplish the double:
Rescuing Innings With Bat
Minhas struck a rapid 59 off 58 balls, featuring nine boundaries, to propel Pakistan toward a commanding total of 302/9 in 50 overs. His lower-middle-order counterattack provided the decisive momentum swing heading into the second half of the match.
Arafat Minhas Opens Up On His Performance
England struggled to counter his variations and discipline, collapsing to 215 all out. Minhas finished with career-best figures of 6 for 40 in 8.4 overs, sealing Pakistan’s 87-run win and rightfully earning the Player of the Match award. The pitch was on the slower side today, which helped me,” Arafat, who starred for Pakistan at the 2024 edition of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, was quoted as saying by ICC.
Arafat Minhas, who claimed the wickets of England captain Harry Brook and experienced players such as Adil Rashid, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton, said he tried to vary his line and length during his spell to ensure the opposition batters were never settled. Arafat looks certain to come into contention for Pakistan’s squad at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup next year and Shaheen said all of his side’s plans were based around next year’s showpiece that will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. “As a team we have done some good things but we need to improve further as we are looking to build towards the World Cup,” he said.
“I have kept my plans simple. There was not much help for the spinners in the first match.
