Abid Ali, pacers give Pakistan the upper hand in 2nd Test against Zimbabwe
Abid Ali continued to torment Zimbabwean bowlers on Day 2 of the second Test of the Pakistan vs Zimbabwe series in Harare. The Pakistani opener completed his maiden Test double ton to guide the visitors to a mammoth score of 510 runs.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam declared the innings after Nauman Ali got stumped just three runs short of his maiden Test ton.
The home team got off to a disappointing start as the likes of Brendan Taylor, Kevin Kasuza and Tarisai Musakanda failed to get going in the middle. The Pakistani fast bowlers troubled the Zimbabwean batters with their pace. The home team ended Day 2 with 52/4 on the board.
Brief scores after Day 2: Pakistan 510/8 dec (Abid Ali 215*, Azhar Ali 126; Blessing Muzarabani 3/82, Tendai Chisoro 2/131) lead Zimbabwe 52/4 (Regis Chakabva 28*, Brendan Taylor 9; Sajid Khan 1/0, Hasan Ali 1/7) by 458 runs.
The Abid Ali show continues at Harare Sports Club
After scoring 118 runs on Day 1 in Harare, Abid Ali picked up from where he had left off. He did not hit a single six in his 407-ball 215* as he impressed fans with his patience. The Pakistani opener completed his maiden double ton off 393 balls.
Abid Ali got fantastic support from Nauman Ali, who aggregated 97 runs off just 104 deliveries. Nauman smashed nine fours and five maximums in his knock before Chisoro got the better of him.
The Zimbabwean bowlers had a forgettable day in the middle. Despite Blessing Muzarabani's triple strike on Day 1, the Zimbabwean side allowed Pakistan to regain the momentum. Muzarabani could not add more wickets to his tally, while Richard Ngarava also failed to take a wicket on Day 2.
Trailing by 510 runs, Zimbabwe lost opener Tarisai Musakanda before the team could open its account. Debutant Tabish Khan trapped him in front of his stumps. Soon after, Tarisai's opening partner Kevin Kasuza joined him in the dressing room.
Regis Chakabva tried his best to stage a fightback, but none of his partners could support him. Shaheen Afridi dismissed Brendan Taylor in the 18th over, and a few overs later, Sajid Khan picked up Milton Shumba's wicket.
Chakabva's 28 runs took Zimbabwe past 50, but it seems unlikely that the African team will be able to end anywhere near Pakistan's total. The visitors will be keen to scalp the remaining wickets early and enforce a follow-on on the minnows.