There is no other way of putting this. Pakistan DECIMATED England in the third one-dayer. In the first one-dayer in Karachi in quite some time, an electrified and enthusiastic crowd saw a hell of a one-dayer if you're a Pakistan fan.
Inexplicably, Trescothick chose to make Pakistan bat after winning the toss. A steady start at slightly less than 5 an over took Pakistan to 74, before Salman Butt fell to a slower ball from Plunkett. Younis Khan followed after being caught behind off Plunkett again, leaving Pakistan reeling slightly at 84 after 17 overs. England could have had a chance, but then Mohammed Yousuf and Kamran Akmal decided to take charge. In the next 16 overs, before Kamran was dismissed, Pakistan put on a 104 runs, leaving Pakistan fairly well positioned at 188 for 3, off 33 overs. A score of 300 didn't seem out of reach at this point, but then the inexplicable happened. Shahid Afridi came in for a 14 ball explosion, and prior to being tragically run out, slammed the bowlers for 31 runs, putting on 46 in 4 some overs. The score relatively crawled to 272 off 43 overs at the Mohammed Yousuf dismissal, and then Abdul Razzaq decided to go ballistic on England. The next 7 overs saw 82 runs, with one spectacular over where Razzaq bashed, literally, Anderson first to long on, then square leg and then a towering, mammoth hit over mid-wicket that almost left the National Stadium structure. Pakistan scored 353 off 50 overs, their second highest total in ODIs.
England was always going to be up against a challenge, and they never came to perform. All out for 188 off 42 overs, only the super sub Bell and Flintoff offered any resistance, scoring 37 and 36 respectively. Pakistan are ahead 2-1 in this five match series but must hold some form of psychological advantage after having won two matches, where they have chased and set the score. Kudos to the Pakistan squad.
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