Gul gives Pakistan the lead

Gul took three crucial wickets to undermine England's chase of 144 for six, to help his team go 1-0 up with two to play.

History therefore repeated itself for Swann, whose three for 13 bettered by one run his previous best - which came in defeat against these opponents on this very ground almost two years ago.

A double-wicket maiden featured in the off-spinner's personal best; yet it was to be Gul (three for 18), who eventually had the most telling impact.

Kevin Pietersen, in particular, and Craig Kieswetter got England's chase off to a handy start in an opening stand of 48. Pietersen took 13 runs from Junaid Khan's first over but was then responsible for five of the dots in the second, from Gul.

He looked in the mood nonetheless with 33 from 21 balls - and had just clubbed Shahid Afridi over long-off for six when he did not get quite enough on the next ball, in the leg-spinner's first over, and was very well held by Asad Shafiq almost on the rope at midwicket.

Kieswetter was doubly culpable, getting out in the very next over - to an embarrassing shot, backing so far away to Mohammad Hafeez that he could not reach a ball which bowled him leg-stump.

Ravi Bopara top-scored with 39 and showed no signs of the back injury which ruled him out of England's fourth successive one-day international win here on Tuesday, after his consecutive half-centuries in that format.

But he went so far across outside off that he did not cover leg-stump and duly lost it to Gul and Pakistan's premier seamer then saw off Jos Buttler, caught at short fine-leg, and had Samit Patel lbw to a yorker first ball to effectively end the game.

Swann stopped the hat-trick, but could not tilt the match back in England's favour. He had induced a significant mid-innings wobble for Pakistan, before Shoaib Malik (39) and Misbah-ul-Haq kept the hosts' total competitive.