NEWS
Follow UsZimbabwe stunned Pakistan in the final T20I in Bulawayo, beating the visitors by two wickets and one ball to spare in a close finish. Pakistan had already clinched the three-match T20I series, gaining an unbeatable lead of 2-0. But the hosts saved themselves from a cleansweep by winning the last fixture.
Opting to bat first, Pakistan had a poor start, getting reduced to 19/3 after four overs in the innings. The new look top-order, consisting of Sahibzada Farhan, Omair Yousuf and Usman Khan, could only manage 9 runs between them. While the right-arm seamer Blessing Muzarbani pouched Yousuf and Usman upfront, the left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza snaffled Farhan.
The skipper Salman Agha and Tayyab Tahir tried to revive the innings, adding 33 off 23 balls for the fourth wicket, but Pakistan never recovered from the early jitters. That fourth-wicket stand remained the highest partnership of the innings as Pakistan failed to inject any momentum into the innings.
Agha was himself run out at the wrong time — in the 15th over for a run-a-ball 32. Tahir (21 off 14) and Qasim Akram (20 off 15) tried to shift the pressure back but Arafat Minhas at seven (22* from 26) struggled to get going as Pakistan only managed 132/7 in their 20 overs.
For Zimbabwe, it was a team effort with the ball with Masakadza, Ryan Burl, Tinotenda Maposa and Richard Ngarava picking a wicket each apart from Muzarbani’s 2/25.
The Zimbabwean openers — Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani — made the moderate run chase even easier by adding 36 runs in the first three overs. It was a deciding phase in the game as Pakistan, enduring a poor start, were only 16/2 after their first three overs.
Agha broke the opening stand with the wicket of Marumani in the fourth over which put shackles on Zimbabwe’s run rate. Bennett, however, continued to bat firmly, adding 33 runs for the second wicket but in 38 balls which gave Pakistan a chance into the game. Both Bennett (43 off 35) and Dion Myers (13 off 18) were out in successive overs. Sikandar Raza (19 off 20) kept losing batting partners and couldn’t accelerate as Zimbabwe skittled from 70/1 in nine overs to 94/5 in 14 overs.
The left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, who picked a record-breaking five-for in the previous match, bowled a maiden in the 16th over of the run chase which upped the asking rate to 9 runs per over. However, it was now Pakistan’s turn to falter in this clash.
Abbas Afridi, having conceded only 5 runs in his first two overs alongside picking two wickets, went for 19 in his last two overs — 17th and 19th over of this chase. Jahanbad Khan needed to prevent 12 runs in the final over but was smacked for a four and a six by Maposa to begin the final over.
Some drama unfolded with Tashinga Musekiwa’s failed attempt at a glory shot, reducing the equation to 1 run off two balls and two wickets left. But Nagarva found a single to finish the game in Zimbabwe’s favor with a ball left. Maposa's 4-ball 12 not out took Zimbabwe to their third win against Pakistan in T20I cricket, all of them secured over the course of their last six clashes. This was his first innings in any recognized T20 fixture.
Bennett was adjudged the Player of the Match for top scoring in the game while Muqeem bagged the Player of the Series award (nine wickets, 4.7 average, 3.9 economy).
The fixture marked the end of the tour. Pakistan also won the ODI series, however, it wasn’t a clean sweep either as they lost the opening game. Thus, the visitors started and ended the tour with a defeat but ended up winning both the series.
They will now fly to South Africa for an all-format tour while Zimbabwe will host Afghanistan for three T20Is, three T20Is and two Tests.
(Cover image credits: ZimCricketv on X/Twitter)
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