Pakistan play England at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday in the fourth match of the one-day tri-series, starting at 1 p.m. local time — 1.30 p.m. in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka are not involved, but the result bears directly on their place in Saturday’s final.
The tournament moves to Lahore for the first time, ESPNcricinfo’s preview records, after three matches at Rawalpindi. Radio Pakistan’s fixture notice gives the same venue and start time, as relayed by PakTribune.
Where the table stands
| Team | M | W | L | Pts | NRR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pakistan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | +1.240 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −0.348 |
| 3 | England | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | −0.892 |
Sri Lanka’s two points come from the chase of 430 against England on 22 October, the second-highest pursuit in ODI history, set against the 37-run defeat by Pakistan in the opener.
Why Sunday matters to Sri Lanka. Each side plays four round-robin matches and the top two contest the final at Lahore on 31 October. If England lose on Sunday they will have no points from three matches and only one fixture left, capping them at two. Sri Lanka already have two, with matches against Pakistan on 27 October and England on 29 October — so a single win would then put them beyond England’s reach. That reading is this desk’s own, from the published table and schedule; neither source states it.
The match itself
Pakistan have won both their matches and are, in ESPNcricinfo’s phrase, eyeing the final. The second of those wins — by 87 runs over England at Rawalpindi on 20 October, with Arafat Minhas scoring 59 and taking six for 40 — is the one match of this series this desk has not covered.
Captain Shaheen Afridi was unmoved by what England did to Sri Lanka’s bowlers three days later. “We’re not interested in the number of runs the other side scored in the previous game, whether it’s 400 or 500,” he said. “What we’re focused on is how to restrict a team to 250, and our bowling is capable enough to do it.” He is one wicket from becoming the eighth Pakistani fast bowler to reach 150 ODI wickets.
England, whose form reads LLWLW against Pakistan’s WWWLW, are expected to recall Adil Rashid after he was left out of the match in which they conceded 430. Tom Banton has made half-centuries in both tri-series games without going on, while Pakistan’s Saim Ayub has 15 runs and no wicket for 61 in two matches.
Lahore offers bigger boundaries than Rawalpindi, though the ground has been batting-friendly in recent years. A hailstorm on the eve of the match sent groundstaff scrambling to cover the square; the covers came off and training went ahead. England have won two of their eight matches at the Gaddafi, in 1987 and 2005. Pakistan will play in pink, the match dedicated to breast cancer awareness.
This is a pre-match report filed before the start of play and will not reflect the toss, the teams or the result.
