Pakistan all-rounder Arafat Minhas continued his rich vein of form by scripting a sensational comeback for Pakistan against England in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. He became only the third Pakistani male player to score a half-century and take five wickets for the same side in an ODI.
Arafat, who recently turned 21, was named Player of the Match as Pakistan registered an emphatic eight-wicket win over their rivals. Arafat joined the likes of former Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi (achieved the feat thrice) and Abdul Razzaq (once) in the list of Pakistan's revered all-rounders.
It was also only the 25th time overall that a player has scored at least 50 runs and taken five wickets in the same men's ODI innings. Arafat also joined the elite company of Viv Richards, Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle, and Shakib Al Hasan.
Arafat Minhas stars with bat and ball against England
In his fifth ODI and 12th overall appearance for Pakistan, Arafat displayed his all-round potential with a rapid 59 from 58 balls. Arafat played a crucial role in Pakistan's competitive total of 302/9 as he dismantled England's batting order with an incredible spell of left-arm spin to finish with figures of 6/40.
Arafat's victims in the match included England captain Harry Brook, plus seasoned campaigners Adil Rashid, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton. The young bowler credits the disciplined lines and lengths he maintains with his variations for not allowing opponents to settle at the crease.
“I have kept my plans simple. There was not much help for the spinners in the first match. The pitch was on the slower side today, which helped me,” Arafat said.
The 21-year-old, who represented Pakistan at the 2024 ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup, added that it was vital to come up with variations as a spinner.
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“Variations are very important for a spinner as they help in deceiving the batters. I have worked on my variations,” he added.
Arafat's impressive display earned plaudits from Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi, who had the youngster in good books as he believes he can be a key player for Pakistan in the future.
“The form of Arafat and fast bowlers is a good signs for us,” Shaheen said.
“Arafat is a very good talent, and he is a proper all-rounder, which bodes well for us. Hopefully, he will deliver for us in many more games in the future.”
With the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup next year, Arafat's performance will give him an extra boost to get into Pakistan's squad for the tournament. The showpiece event will be held across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, with Shaheen saying that as a team they have been building towards the competition.
“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,” the Pakistan captain said.
Meanwhile, England skipper Harry Brook admits that his side failed to build partnerships during their chase. Despite their promising innings, the hosts lost wickets regularly and struggled to get past Pakistan's spin bowling attack.
“(Tom) Banton and Ducky (Ben Duckett) set the tone beautifully, but we lost the wickets in clumps and could not put on a partnership and ended up on the wrong side,” Brook said.
The England captain felt that his batsmen were too circumspect against the spinners and that they could have put Pakistan under pressure.
“We were a bit too much circumspect against the spinners. We could have put them under pressure, I feel,” he added.
Tri-series schedule:
October 18: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Rawalpindi (Pakistan won by 37 runs)
October 20: Pakistan vs England, Rawalpindi (Pakistan won by 87 runs)
October 22: Sri Lanka vs England, Rawalpindi
October 25: Pakistan vs England, Lahore
October 27: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Lahore
October 29: Sri Lanka vs England, Lahore
October 31: Final, Lahore