Match Details

Pakistan vs England, 2nd Match, ODI Tri-Series 2026

  • Date: Tuesday 20 October 2026
  • Start time: 13:00 Pakistan time (08:00 UTC)
  • Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
  • Format: One-Day International, 50 overs
  • Competition: Pakistan ODI Tri-Series 2026 (round-robin)

England open their tri-series campaign against a Pakistan side that hit the ground running 48 hours earlier, when Salman Agha's century set up a 37-run win over Sri Lanka at the same ground. For Harry Brook's England it is a first outing of the tour; for Pakistan it is a chance to make early control of the tournament their own.

It is the first meeting between these teams in this competition, and the first of two group-stage dates, with the rematch scheduled for Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on 25 October.

Pakistan Team Preview

Pakistan's 16-member squad, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi and announced by the PCB, blends the established core with a dash of new blood: Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman head the batting, Salman Ali Agha and Saim Ayub add middle-order power, and the attack is spearheaded by Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed. The wicketkeeping duties sit with Saad Baig and Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, with the squad list not featuring former captain Mohammad Rizwan.

Form-wise Pakistan are exactly where the hosts want to be. On Sunday they posted 305 and bowled Sri Lanka out for 268 to win the tournament opener by 37 runs, Agha making 107 off 90 balls after Pakistan had slipped to early trouble. Their most recent ODI series before this tournament was also a successful one: a 3-0 home sweep of Sri Lanka in November 2025.

England Team Preview

England named a 16-player squad on 1 October, with Harry Brook continuing as captain. Joe Root, Ben Duckett and Will Jacks anchor the batting; Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and the recalled Sam Curran lead the pace options; and Adil Rashid returns to lead the spin attack after a hand injury ruled him out of the recent 2-1 Metro Bank ODI series win over Sri Lanka.

There are notable absentees. Jos Buttler misses the tour with the hamstring injury he sustained in that series, while Jofra Archer has been rested to manage his workload. Three players are chasing maiden ODI caps: leg-spinner Mason Crane, called up eight years after his last England appearance, all-rounder James Coles and left-arm quick Henry Crocombe.

England's selectors view the trip, in National Selector Marcus North's words, as "another valuable opportunity for our ODI squad to test themselves against quality opposition in different conditions."

Players to Watch

Salman Ali Agha (Pakistan)

The man of Sunday's opener. Agha's 107 came off 90 balls with ten fours and a six, rescuing Pakistan from a wobbly start, and it followed his recent removal as T20I captain, a point he answered emphatically. England's new-look attack will have plans for him.

Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Babar is second only to Javed Miandad among Pakistan's run-scorers in this fixture: 1,584 ODI runs against England at an average of 47.4, including an unbeaten 158 at Birmingham in 2021, per ESPNcricinfo's head-to-head record. He made 45 on Sunday.

Joe Root (England)

Root has 835 ODI runs against Pakistan at 52.19 in the same record, and his experience of playing spin in Asian conditions gives England a calming presence in a shuffled middle order.

Adil Rashid (England)

Fit again after the hand injury, England's frontline leg-spinner will relish Rawalpindi's evening surfaces. His duel with Agha and Babar may shape the middle overs.

Pakistan vs England: The ODI Head-to-Head

The record books favour England. Of 92 completed ODIs between the sides between 1974 and 2023, England have won 57 and Pakistan 32, with three ties (per ESPNcricinfo's head-to-head data as compiled ahead of this tour). England have also won six of the last seven bilateral series since 2010, including a 3-0 home sweep in 2021.

Pakistan's counter-weights are potent: Fakhar Zaman's 138 at Southampton in 2019 sits among the five highest individual scores in the fixture, and their highest successful chase against England came in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final, on Pakistani soil at Karachi.

Cric Hub's own archive currently holds seven Pakistan-England ODIs (1977-1996), so this head-to-head section relies on externally verified records rather than the local database.

Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

The 15,000-capacity Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with floodlights, hosts all three matches of the tri-series's Rawalpindi leg. Sunday's opener produced 573 runs across the two innings after Sri Lanka chose to bowl first, and the venue also staged Pakistan's 3-0 sweep of Sri Lanka in November 2025, an encouraging record for the hosts.

Tournament Context

The tri-series is a six-match round-robin: each side plays the others twice, with Rawalpindi staging the matches on 18, 20 and 22 October before the tournament moves to Lahore for the fixtures on 25, 27 and 29 October. The final is at Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday 31 October.

Pakistan lead the table with two points after the opening win. A victory on Tuesday would put daylight between the hosts and the field before England and Sri Lanka have even begun their campaigns. England, meanwhile, will note that they also face Pakistan in Lahore on 25 October, so Tuesday's result sets a psychological marker for the rematch.

Match Outlook

Pakistan carry momentum, home advantage and a settled top order into this one, and their pace trio of Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf is suited to the venue. England's counterargument is depth: a batting line-up with Root, Brook, Duckett and Banton, an attack refreshed by Rashid's return, and a favourable historical record against this opposition. England also arrive having beaten Pakistan's Test side 3-0 at home this summer, though this is a different format and a much-changed squad on both sides.

On the balance of recent ODI form, a close contest is in prospect, with the toss and the depth of Pakistan's spin options against England's aggressive batting likely to be decisive.

Where to Follow the Match

Live scores, ball-by-ball updates and the full scorecard are available in the Cricket Hub match centre: