RAWAPINDI: Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in the opening match of the Tri-Nation T 20 series after a thrilling contest.
After having won the toss, Pakistan’s skipper Salman Ali Agha opted to bowl first. Zimbabwe were off to a flying start.
The openers Bennett and Marumani smashed Pakistan’s bowler all around the park.
They gave Zimbabwe an opening stand of 72 runs in just 8 overs span. Bennett Scored 49 runs whereas Marumani managed 30 runs knock.
However, Zimbabwe could not sustain the momentum as the wickets kept falling in regular intervals later on. Skipper Sikandar Raza also did some hammering in the middle order and scored 34 runs. Mohammad Nawaz picked up two wickets while Shaheen, Salman, Abrar and Saim picked up two wickets each.
Pakistan lost their wicket consistently during the runs-chase. At one stage Pakistan were 54 for 4.
Fakhar Zaman and Usman Khan took the charge at the crease and managed a 61 runs partnership on the 5th wicket.
Fakhar made 44 runs. Usman Khan played a superb innings of 37 runs on 28 balls and he was well-supported by Nawaz who smashed a 12 balls 21 runs knock.
Pakistan went across the line the 3rd ball of the 20th overs with 5 wickets in hand.
Zimbabwe will play Sri Lanka in the 2nd match of the series.
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan and Zimbabwe have come across each other in 21 matches.
Pakistan have won 18 times whereas Zimbabwe have been the victorious side on three occasions.
Zimbabwe have also enjoyed their famous win over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Zimbabwe also beat Pakistan in a T20 match when Pakistan toured to Zimbabwe last year for the ODIs and the T20s series.
The Zimbabwean skipper Sikandar Raza has vowed to put up a good show in the ongoing Tri-Nation T20 series against Pakistan.
