England watched a commanding position evaporate in Lahore as Pakistan's final pair pulled off a heist that will sting for a long time.
Cricket has a cruel way of punishing teams that think the job is done. In Lahore, England learned that lesson again, letting a seemingly unbeatable position slip away as Pakistan's last-wicket pair produced a stand few in the ground could have imagined.
For most of the contest, England looked in control, with the game tilted firmly their way and Pakistan up against it. Then the final partnership began to chip away at the target, turning belief into noise from the crowd and nerves into mistakes from the visitors.
The pressure showed. England could not land the finishing blow, and every run the Pakistan tail added made the next one feel more inevitable. By the end, a result that had looked settled became one of those collapses that gets replayed and argued over for a long time.
For England, this is another one-day international that got away from a position of strength, and questions about their ability to close out games will only grow louder. For Pakistan, it is a statement of fight and a reminder that in this format, the contest is not over until the last wicket falls.
