Sports

England lose Lahore thriller as Shadab Khan hits record century

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Key takeaways

  • Pakistan beat England by one wicket in Lahore on Sunday, October 25, 2026.
  • Shadab Khan hit 113 not out, the best ODI score ever by a number eight batter.
  • Shadab and Haris Rauf added 89 runs for the last wicket, a new ODI chase record.
Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore under floodlights at night
Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore hosted the one-day match on Sunday. File photograph: PCB/Wikimedia CommonsImage: Wikimedia Commons

Pakistan beat England by one wicket in Lahore on Sunday. The win came from a place that looked lost. Pakistan were nine wickets down with 88 runs still to get.

Then Shadab Khan played the innings of his life.

Shadab finished on 113 not out from 96 balls. He hit 13 fours and five sixes. His partner, Haris Rauf, made just seven not out from 19 balls.

But Rauf stayed with him to the end. Together they added 89 runs for the last wicket. That is now the biggest last-wicket stand in a winning ODI chase.

What happened

England batted first and made 241 all out in 46.4 overs. Ben Duckett led the way with 105 from 111 balls. It was his fifth ODI hundred.

But few other England batters made a mark.

England started badly and lost early wickets in a rush. Captain Harry Brook was run out for just one. Shaheen Shah Afridi took four wickets for 46 runs.

He struck in the first over and kept England under pressure all day.

Duckett and Sam Curran then steadied England with a stand of 93 runs. Curran made 42 before he fell to Afridi. Gus Atkinson hit an unbeaten 36 late in the innings.

He struck three sixes and lifted England past 200. Even so, 241 looked below par on this pitch.

Pakistan chased 242 for the win. Their start was poor too. Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam each made 10 runs.

Saim Ayub made six. Pakistan soon slipped to 103 for six wickets.

Shadab walked in during the 24th over. Saad Baig had made a brisk 32. Salman Ali Agha had added 26.

But the chase still looked hard. Then wickets kept falling around Shadab. Pakistan fell to 154 for nine in the 34th over.

England looked sure to win at that point.

Shadab had other ideas. He took most of the strike and shielded Rauf from the bowling. He hit the ball hard and ran smart singles.

He reached his fifty, then pushed on toward a hundred. Rauf faced only 19 balls in the whole stand.

Drama came when Shadab was on 97. Atkinson bowled him a low full toss. The umpire gave him out leg before wicket.

Shadab threw his bat down in anger. But he asked for a review at the last moment.

Replays showed a thin inside edge on the bat. The decision was overturned and Shadab stayed at the crease. He went on to reach his hundred with back-to-back fours off Atkinson.

It was his first ODI hundred. It was also the highest ODI score by any batter at number eight or lower.

Shadab then hit Atkinson for six down the ground. The target fell to single figures. Rauf sealed the win with a four off debutant Henry Crocombe.

Pakistan finished on 243 for nine in 47.1 overs. They won with 17 balls still left.

Why it matters

This was not just a close win. It broke records that had stood for decades. The old record was 64 not out in a winning ODI chase.

That mark was set by West Indies against Pakistan in the 1975 World Cup. Shadab and Rauf beat it by 25 runs.

Shadab also set a batting record of his own. No number eight batter had ever scored more in an ODI. Two other number eight batters had made hundreds before him.

Neither reached 113. Shadab scored 113 of the 140 runs made while he was at the crease.

The result also changed the tri-series race. The series features Pakistan, England, and Sri Lanka. Pakistan are now through to the final on Saturday, October 31.

The final will be played at the same ground in Lahore.

England, by contrast, are close to going out. This was their third straight defeat in the series. Days earlier, Sri Lanka chased 430 against them in Rawalpindi.

That was the second-highest winning chase in ODI history. England coach Brendon McCullum told the BBC his players were gutted.

England can still reach the final, but they need help. They need Pakistan to beat Sri Lanka on Tuesday, October 27. Then they must beat Sri Lanka themselves on Thursday, October 29.

If Sri Lanka beat Pakistan on Tuesday, England are out.

What happens next

Pakistan will play Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Lahore. A win there would keep their strong run going. It would also keep England alive in the series.

A loss would end England's hopes before their last group game.

England will play Sri Lanka on Thursday. That game may still matter, or it may be a dead rubber. Much depends on the Tuesday result.

England will want a big response after two painful defeats in one week.

For fans, the lesson is simple. A one-day game is never over until the last wicket falls. England had the game in their hands at 154 for nine.

One batter changed it all. Shadab kept calm, kept hitting, and kept the strike.

His innings will be talked about for a long time. It gave Pakistan a final place. It gave the tri-series a classic match.

And it gave England a week they will want to forget fast.

Cricket match in progress at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in daylight
Cricket in progress at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. File photograph: Ahmed Abdulbasit/Wikimedia CommonsImage: Wikimedia Commons

For the wider series picture, see our Pakistan vs England tri-series scorecard. England's week started with the Sri Lanka chase of 430 in Rawalpindi. The race for the Lahore final is covered in our Pakistan-England Lahore final race page.

TaggedPakistan cricketEngland cricketShadab KhanODI tri-seriesLahore