England suffered a stunning upset at the hands of inspired Pakistan in their second World Cup match at Trent Bridge.
The hosts and favourites were surprisingly lacklustre in the field as Pakistan, roared on by their noisy and vibrant fans, posted 348-8.
Even though England have made a habit of overhauling such targets, they were still faced with having to pull off the most successful chase in World Cup history.
And they were denied by the rejuvenated Pakistanis, who had lost their previous 11 one-day internationals including a 4-0 series defeat by England prior to the tournament and then a humiliation against West Indies on this ground on Friday.
Despite Joe Root’s 107, the first century of the tournament, and a 75-ball ton from Jos Buttler, England were restricted to 334-9 to lose by 14 runs
In a tournament where the 10 teams play each other once to determine the semi-finalists, there are plenty of opportunities for England to get their campaign back on track, starting with Bangladesh in Cardiff on Saturday.
Pakistan, renowned for veering from shambolic to sublime in global tournaments, will look to continue their resurgence in Sri Lanka in Bristol on Friday. (BBC)
Summmarised scores: Pakistan 348-8 (Mohammad Hafeez 84, Baban Azam 63, Sarfaraz Ahmed 55, Imam-ul-Haq 44, Fakhan Zaman 36, Asif Ali 14, Hasan Ali 10*, Shadab Khan 10*; Moeen Ali 3-50, Chris Woakes 3-21, Mark Wood 2-53) England 334-9 (Joe Root 107, Jos Buttler 103, Jonny Bairstow 32, Chris Woakes 21, Moeen Ali 19, Ben Stokes 13, Mark Wood 10*; Wahab Raiz 3-82, Shadab Khan 2-63, Mohammad Amir 2-67) Pakistan won by 14 runs.
