Pakistan tour of Zimbabwe: Hosts defeat Pakistan by seven wickets

Hamilton Masakadza was awarded the man of the match for his match winning knock of 85

Even a lacklustre fielding effort from Zimbabwe, offering all of Pakistan’s top four batsmen an extra chance, did not deny them from emerging as comfortable winners over Pakistan in the first match of the bilateral ODI series at the Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe. Batting first, Pakistan posted a total of 244 runs on the board which was chased down easily by the home team in 48.2 overs.

Winning the toss, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq elected to bat, a decision that would have come as a pleasant surprise for the home team who were expecting the pitch to get better as the game progressed. Pakistan openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad, despite being disciplined in their approach and not taking unwanted risks, found the Zimbabwean opening bowlers intimidating to handle.

They were extremely lucky to last as long as they did before being relieved of their misery with their strike rate at the time of dismissal hovering around 50. However, it made life easy for Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq as by the time they had come in, both the opening bowlers Tinashe Panyangara and Brian Vitori, the latter despite being a little expensive, had finished their impressive opening burst.

The third wicket pair added 99 runs, taking Pakistan from 80/2 in 19.5 overs to 179/3 in 37.4 overs. Hafeez, starting tentatively against Tendai Chatara, slogged his way out of trouble before being dismissed for a stroke filled 70 of 71. Wickets at regular intervals derailed the innings with the ever calm and assured Misbah, unbeaten on 83 off 85 balls, guiding Pakistan to a respectable total of 244 in their 50 overs.

Despite a modest target in their sights, a Zimbabwean victory was still miles away given their inability to play spinners, as demonstrated in their recently concluded series against India. When you add the kind of quality that Pakistan fast bowlers, Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan, bring along with their trio of spinners, Zimbabwe were looking at a daunting task.

The doubts were put to rest, atleast for this game. Not to forget the pitch which was getting better. Both the openers Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda managed to get past their fifties, putting together a hundred run partnership to set the platform for the home team. Saeed Ajmal eventually nailed Sibanda with the one that came in, after setting him up with two straighter ones, for 54 runs.

Captain Brendan Taylor, recovering from a forgettable outing against India, joined Masakadza, as the two batsmen took the home team closer to victory. Masakadza perished 15 runs short of his century with the score at 176 for 2 and the home team needing 69 runs from 12.3 overs. Ajmal was the wicket taker again.

With Junaid picking up Maruma, Sean Williams, whose game changing 39 off 23 balls and Taylor, unbeaten on 59-ball 43, never let the game slip away from their hands, closing out the chase with ease.