ZIM vs PAK: Muqeem, Abrar, Tahir shine as Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 57 runs

Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series after beating Zimbabwe by 57 runs in the opening game on Sunday, December 1 at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

After opting to bat first, Pakistan racked up a competitive score of 165 for four on the board. No one stood out for them, and it was small contributions from all their batters that helped them post a decent score on the board. Tayaab Tahir, however, was chosen as the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 39 off 25 balls, laced with four fours and a six.

Usman Khan also made 39 runs with two fours and two sixes. Saim Ayub, who was fresh from his 53-ball hundred in the second ODI, chipped in with a quick-fire knock of 24 off 18 balls. Irfan Khan injected the late momentum into the innings with a 27-run knock off 15 balls. For Zimbabwe, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Wellington Masakadza and



Ryan Burl took one wicket apiece.

Zimbabwe lost the early wickets of Brian Bennett and Dion Myers after Abrar Ahmed gave Pakistan the early breakthroughs. But Tadiwanashe Marumani and Raza kept them in the hunt. Marumani took the attack to the opposition bowlers with a knock of 33 at a strike-rate of 165.

Raza, at the other hand, faced issues with his hamstring, but carried on to score 39 off 28 balls. But after Marumani was run out, Zimbabwe completely lost their way and were bowled out for 108 in 15.3 overs. The hosts lost their last eight wickets for 31 runs in a space of 7.2 overs.

Abrar also dismissed Trevor Gwandu to finish with figures of 3.3-0-28-3. Left-arm wrist spinner also rattled the Zimbabwean batting with figures of 4-0-20-3. Haris Rauf took two wickets and became Pakistan’s all-time leading wicket-taker in Men’s T20Is.