Mohammad Nawaz shines as Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets in T20I tri-series opener
Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by five wickets in the T20I tri-series opener at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
New Delhi: Pakistan avoided a massive upset as they defeated spirited Zimbabwe by 5 wickets in the opening match of the T20I tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, November 18. Chasing a 148-run target, the hosts lost early wickets while the middle-order also struggled before Usman Khan and Mohammad Nawaz secured victory with four balls remaining.
Zimbabwe, sent in to bat first on a two-paced pitch, managed 147/8 in their 20 overs, with Brian Bennett scoring 49 runs off 36 balls. Bennett played stunning shots and dominated the power play, forging a 72-run partnership with Marumani, who also scored 30 runs off 33 balls with the help of three boundaries and one maximum. At one point, the visitors were on course to post a 160+ target, but Pakistan’s spinners made a good comeback to pull the innings back.
The middle-order batters failed to make any contribution and struggled against the spinners. Saim Ayub removed Bennett for 49, which further halted Zimbabwe's momentum. Captain Sikandar Raza played a crucial knock and helped his side to cross the 140-run mark, scoring an unbeaten 34 runs off 24 balls. But the wickets kept falling at the other end as Zimbabwe fell a few runs short of a challenging target. Mohammad Nawaz picked up two wickets, and Abrar Ahmed also took one wicket.
Fakhar, Nawaz shine in run chase
Pakistan got off to a great start while chasing the target as Sahibzada Farhan smashed three boundaries, but lost his wicket for 16 runs. Brad Evans trapped Babar Azam lbw for a three-ball duck, while skipper Salman Agha was also removed by Maposa for 1.
At 54/4, Fakhar Zaman changed the momentum with a counterattacking knock. He stitched a 61-run partnership with Usman Khan, but his dismissal at 115/5 reopened the match for the visitors. However, Usman remained calm and forged a match-winning partnership of 36 runs with Nawaz. Usman scored an unbeaten 37 runs off 28 balls, while Nawaz amassed 21 runs off 12 balls as Pakistan won the tri-series opener.