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New Delhi: Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe by 69 runs to qualify for the T20I tri-series final at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. After posting a 196-run target on the board, Pakistan bundled Zimbabwe out for just 126 runs to pick up their third consecutive win in the tri-series.
After opting to bat first on a slow pitch, Pakistan got off to a great start as Sahibzada Farhan continued his brilliant form from the previous game. After he hit a boundary each in the opening two overs, Saim Ayub smashed consecutive maximums.
Brad Evans provided the visitors with their first breakthrough and removed Ayub for 13 runs. Farhan completed the powerplay by two maximums in an over against Richard Ngarava. Babar struggled a bit, but finally broke the shackles with a boundary.
Farhan completed his second fifty in two days, and at the other end, Babar scored his half-century after registering poor scores of 0 & 16 in the first two games. Raza removed Farhan for 63 runs, which was then followed by Faheem Ashraf's runout.
Babar changed the gears with a flurry of boundaries. At one point, he smashed three boundaries and a maximum in the space of five deliveries before Raza dismissed him for 74 runs. The hosts were losing momentum in the end, but Fakhar Zaman entertained the crowd by scoring 25 runs in the final over as Pakistan crossed the 190-run mark.
Chasing the target, Naseem Shah removed Tadiwanashe Marumani for 4 runs, while Wasim dismissed Brian Bennett in the next over. Brendan Taylor also failed to score runs as Zimbabwe were reduced to 43/3 at the end of the powerplay. Raza looked good for his 23 off 18, but mistimed a shot off Mohammad Nawaz.
From 59/3, Zimbabwe were reduced to 82/9 as wickets fell quickly. Usman Tariq picked up a hat-trick, removing Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa and Wellington Masakadza off consecutive deliveries before taking another wicket on the last ball of his spell.
Ryan Burl forged a 44-run stand with Ngarava for the last wicket. He smashed a flurry of boundaries and completed his half-century, and eventually scored more than 50% of his team's runs. His unbeaten 67 runs off 49 balls kept Zimbabwe in the hunt for a spot in the final.
Babar equalled Virat Kohli’s record for the most fifties in T20I cricket. Kohli has scored 38 half-centuries for India in 125 T20I matches from 2010 to 2014. On the other hand, Babar also has 38 half-centuries in 134 T20I matches. He has also smashed three centuries in the 20-over format.
Most fifties in T20Is
Virat Kohli (117 innings) - 38
Babar Azam (127 innings) - 38
Rohit Sharma (151 innings) - 32
Mohammed Rizwan (93 innings) - 30
David Warner (110 innings) - 28
Jos Buttler (132 innings) - 28
