Pakistan knock Zimbabwe out of T20I Tri-series

HARARE: Pakistan knocked Zimbabwe out of the Twenty20 tri-series in Harare in a closely-fought encounter on Wednesday, beating the hosts by seven wickets with five deliveries to spare.Opener Fakhar Zaman top-scored for Pakistan with 47 before captain Sarfraz Ahmed overcame a spirited Zimbabwean fightback and saw his side home with an unbeaten 38.Their efforts meant that Zimbabwean allrounder Solomon Mire’s bellicose earlier innings earlier went in vain. Mire struck 94, the highest score by a Zimbabwean in Twenty20 internationals, but Zimbabwe’s 162 for 4 was not enough to overcome the world’s top-ranked T20 side.Zaman said Pakistan was always confident they could pull off a successful chase. “We have a very deep batting line-up, so we were confident we could chase it,” he said.Pakistan given a rapid start by Zaman and fellow opener Haris Sohail, who took 56 from the Powerplay. Sohail holed out soon afterwards, but Zaman continued to show the sort of touch that made him vital to Pakistan’s successful Champions Trophy run last year. Mixing aggression with an ability to manoeuvre the ball around the field, he cracked four fours and a six. The tactic spoke volumes about his development as a limited overs batsman.“In the start in T20 I was hitting every ball in my striking zone, but after playing eight to 10 games I sat with some senior players like Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed, and spoke about my gameplans with them,” Zaman explained.“I realised that I could play proper cricket shots and be successful (in T20), and that’s what I’ve been doing recently.”He may have learnt even more from Ahmed’s innings of calm precision that kept Pakistan up with an asking rate that hovered around eight for much of the match.Executing his attacking strokes perfectly, Ahmed found the gaps and the boundaries whenever they were needed. He displayed a particularly deft touch with his late cut, taking boundaries off left-arm spinners Tendai Chisoro and Wellington Masakadza with the stroke.With four runs needed from the final over, it was also the shot he used to end the game, gliding seamer Chris Mpofu to the third man boundary.Where Ahmed’s innings was one of finesse, Mire’s 63-ball 94 for Zimbabwe showcased big-hitting ability.Score BoardZimbabweC. Zhuwao b Ashraf 24S. Mire c Khan b Talat 94H. Masakadza b Khan 2T. Musakanda c Malik b Amir 33E. Chigumbura not out 5M. Waller not out 0Extras (lb1, w3) 4Total (4 wkts, 20 overs) 162Did not bat: P. Moor, T. Chisoro, C. Mpofu, W. Masakadza, B. MuzarabaniFall of wickets: 1-49 (Zhuwao), 2-82 (Masakadza), 3-146 (Mire), 4-161 (Musakanda)Bowling: Malik 1-0-12-; Amir 4-0-25-1; Ali 4-0-37-0; Ashraf 4-0-24-1; Khan 3-0-28-1 (1w); Nawaz 3-0-25-0; Talat 1-0-10-1 (2w).PakistanF. Zaman c Mpofu b Mire 47H. Sohail c Mire b W Masakadza 16H. Talat c Zhuwao b Mpofu 44S. Ahmed not out 38S. Malik not out 12Extras (w6) 6Total (3 wkts, 19.1 overs) 163Bowling: Chisoro 4-0-38-0; Muzarabani 4-0-31-0 (1w); Mpofu 3.1-0-31-1 (4w); W Masakadza 4-0-30-1; Waller 2-0-18-0; Mire 2-0-15-1 (1w)Result: Pakistan won by seven wicketsToss: PakistanUmpires: Langton Rusere (ZIM), Iknow Chabi (ZIM) TV umpire: Russell Tiffin (ZIM)Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ).

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