Arafat Minhas took a maiden six-wicket haul as Pakistan defeated England by 87 runs to stay on course for the No. 3 spot on the ICC ODI Team Rankings.

Arafat followed up his 59 with figures of 8.4-0-40-6 as England were dismissed for 215 in 38.4 overs, after Pakistan had posted 302 for nine on being put into bat. There was never any doubt about the player of the match.

This was Pakistan’s first win over England since 2019 and ended a four-match losing streak. It was also only their second win against England since the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy match in Cardiff, which they won by eight wickets.

England were cruising at 165 for three in the 29th over when Naseem Shah dismissed Joe Root and Haris Rauf then accounted for Sam Curran. Arafat, who had earlier dismissed Tom Banton and Harry Brook, then took matters into his own hands and ran through the England lower order, who lost their last seven wickets for 50 runs.

He pinned Jordan Cox lbw, had Will Jacks caught by Shaheen Shah Afridi at short midwicket, and forced Jamie Overton into a false stroke before trapping Adil Rashid lbw. Arafat also had a hand in the run-out of last man Gus Atkinson, collecting a throw from midwicket and hitting the stumps directly at the striker’s end.

While Arafat finished with six for 40 in batting-friendly conditions, Rauf claimed two for 32 and Naseem picked up one for 46.

For England, Banton top-scored with 57, while Ben Duckett (45), Root (33) and Curran (27) were the other notable run-scorers.

Earlier, Pakistan crossed the 300-run mark for the second successive time, posting 302 for nine after being sent into bat.

After Pakistan slipped to 59 for three and then 133 for five, Hasan Nawaz and Arafat added 78 runs for the sixth wicket. Arafat then stitched a 72-run partnership in 49 balls for the seventh wicket with Faheem Ashraf.

Hasan showed his talent and worth, scoring 79 from 74 balls with five fours and four sixes. Arafat finished with 59 from 58 balls with nine fours, while Faheem contributed a 26-ball 39 with five fours and a six.

At the top of the order, Babar Azam once again looked in good touch but failed to convert a 52-ball start into a big score, and was bowled by Jacks for 34 with four fours. Saad Baig, in his second match, scored 35 from 52 balls with five fours. He added 28 runs with Babar for the third wicket after Pakistan had slipped to 31 for two, Fakhar Zaman having departed on the first ball of the match and Saim Ayub for eight.

For England, Sonny Baker took three for 65, while Atkinson bagged two for 35.

To finish third on the ICC ODI Team Rankings, Pakistan now need to beat Sri Lanka and England in the second-round matches in Lahore.