Pak vs Zim: Zimbabwe defeat hapless Pakistan to level T20I series 1-1

HARARE: Pakistan on Friday put Zimbabwe into bat first after winning the toss in the second T20I match played at the Harare Sports Club.

Pakistan made two changes in the playing squad. Asif Ali and Arshad Iqbal have been inducted in place of Haider Ali and Mohammad Nawaz.

After being put into bat, Brendan Taylor said they will try set a high target for the visitors.

In the last game, the hosts had put Pakistan in a tough spot in various phases of the game but were unable to capitalise on the pressure they created.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s middle order was exposed, once again, by the Chevrons after taking quick wickets. The team will be hoping that they fire in today’s game.

Had it not been Mohammad Rizwan’s 82 from 61 balls, Pakistan would have not been able to post the target of 150.

Zimbabwe had looked threatening at 77-2 in the 10th over but Usman Qadir (3-29) and pacer Mohammad Hasnain (2-27) kept them to 138-7 in the allotted 20 overs.

Zimbabwe had needed 20 off the last over but Haris Rauf kept tight length to concede just eight to pull off a hard earned win, helping Pakistan to 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Babar Azam, in his post-match media talk, acknowledged that the team had to work hard for their victory against Zimbabwe.

“Had someone stayed a little longer with Mohammad Rizwan, we might have set a better target for the opponents,” said Azam.

On the other hand, Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams had acknowledged that their fielding let them down.

“It is inexcusable the number of catches we dropped which ultimately cost us the game. We need to improve our fielding. We will go back to the drawing board and improve better in the next game,” Willams had stated.