Zimbabwe 133 for 8 (Bennett 43, Afridi 3-24) beaten Pakistan 132 for 7 (Salman 32, Muzarabani 2-25) by two wickets
Tidy Zimbabwe leaves Pakistan in disarray
Raza realized that Pakistan was struggling with spin and joined Ryan Burl and Brian Bennett at different stages in the middle overs. Pakistan were batting with a fairly long tail, which necessitated a rebuild in the middle overs. Salman Agha struck up handy partnerships with Tayyab Tahir and Qasim Akram to keep the visitors on their toes, before useful cameos from Arafat Minhas and Abbas Afridi took Pakistan beyond three figures. It was only a messy final 13 runs from Muzarabani that took Pakistan past 130 against a bowling attack that offered them very little throughout the innings. It was almost enough.
Bennett and Marumani burn Pakistan
Pakistan were defending a low total, and Zimbabwe’s early goals essentially broke them. The intention was clear when Bennett whipped Mohammad Hasnain to the square leg boundary on the first ball of the innings. Marumani, who had the better of Jahandad for much of this series, hit him offside for two boundaries in the second half, and from there Zimbabwe flew away.
But when Hasnain lined up for his second over, he found himself scratched at the hands of Bennett. His line and length were all over the place and the batter was only too happy to take advantage with a pair of boundaries either side of the wicket, plundering 19 runs from the errants. Salman rushed into the attack and Marumani cheekily swept him off the first ball. It had only taken them 19 balls to get to 40, and the required rate was now less than five.
Muqeem magic almost derailed Zimbabwe
There is no better indicator of Muqeem’s debut in T20I cricket than Pakistan turning to him for a miracle when they needed wickets and run rate control. No hitter could truly spot his bad hitter, and his numbers of 4-1-19-1 didn’t do justice to the full extent of his magic. There were several shots that barely missed the outside edge, and a few top edges that so easily could have slipped right off. This resulted in an enticing finale against Musekiwa, who desperately tried to see him off, ready to play an opening role as the asking rate increased after each ball.
On any other day, Muqeem would have finished the game before his spell ended, and based on the evidence of this series, there will be many more such days.
