KARACHI, 16 December 2005 — Kamran Akmal smashed his second successive one-day century to help Pakistan hand England a crushing 165-run defeat in the third day-night limited overs international here yesterday.

Akmal followed his 102 in the second match with a brilliant 109 and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq hit an unbeaten 22-ball 51 as England conceded their highest-ever one-day total of 353-6 in 50 overs.

England never looked remotely in the hunt and lost wickets at regular intervals. They were dismissed for 188 in 42 overs, with super-sub Ian Bell top-scoring with 37 not out.

Pakistan lead the five-match series 2-1.

The result equaled England’s previous worst one-day defeat of 165 suffered against the West Indies at St. Vincent in the 1993-94 series.

The tourists lost opener Matthew Prior (two) to a run out in the seventh over when fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar picked up Marcus Trescothick’s drive and threw the stumps down at the non-striker’s end.

Rana Naveed ul-Hasan then removed Trescothick (22) and Vikram Solanki (nought) in his fourth over to leave England struggling on 40-3.

It became 4-79 when Mohammad Sami trapped Andrew Strauss leg before for 23. All-rounder Andrew Flintoff hit seven boundaries in his 36 before he was bowled by super-sub Yasir Arafat.

Leg-spinner Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik then shared five wickets between them to wrap up the innings on a day totally dominated by Pakistan.

Earlier, Akmal had added 104 for the third wicket with Mohammad Yousuf (68) after Trescothick surprisingly put them in on a pitch full of runs.

The 22-year-old, whose century helped Pakistan win Monday’s second match at Lahore by seven wickets, laid the cornerstone for a big Pakistan total by giving them a flying start of 74 with Salman Butt (29).

Akmal, who survived a caught and bowled chance off Paul Collingwood, struck 12 boundaries off 111 balls to notch up his third one-day hundred before holing out at long-on with a tired shot off the bowling of Collingwood.

His fall brought in popular all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who delighted the packed 33,000 crowd with a rapid-fire 14-ball 31 studded with three fours and two sixes.

Afridi, who returned after serving a one-Test and two one-day games ban for scuffing the pitch in the second Test last month, was finally run out in a mix-up with Yousuf.

Yousuf suffered the same fate five overs later after hitting seven boundaries during his 65-ball knock. But his fall opened the way for a late-order flurry as Pakistan notched up 109 off the last ten overs.

Razzaq hit five fours and three sixes during his brisk knock of 22 balls, while Inzamam smacked four boundaries and a six as the pair added 78 off just 39 balls to scuttle a hapless England attack.

Plunkett was the best of England’s bowlers, taking two wickets for 61 off seven overs. James Anderson was hit for 72 off his ten and Steve Harmison 62 off his eight.

England brought Vikram Solanki in for big-hitting Kevin Pietersen who returned home after suffering back and ribcage problems. The match was played under tight security with over 3,000 policemen and paramilitary troops cordoning off the ground. England, who refused to play a Test here, had sought extra security in the violence-prone city.

The previous highest total conceded by England in all One-Day Internationals was 326-8 made by India at Lord’s in 2002.

The fourth match will be played at Rawalpindi on Monday.