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Pakistan 130 out of 2 (Shafique 41, Khushdil 36 *, Masakadza 1-19) beat Zimbabwe 129 for 9 (Chibhabha 31, Qadir 4-13, Wasim 2-27) from eight wickets
In a game so similar to the second T20I that it could almost be a carbon copy, Pakistan scored a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe to complete a clean sweep on the visitors. It was another game enlightened by a delightful Usman Qadir spell whose 4 for 13 tore Zimbabwe to shreds as they stammered at 129, their lowest total in the series. Pakistan made the chase short again, arriving at the target with a contemptuous Khushdil Shah six with nearly five overs to go. Zimbabwe failed to exert any pressure on a senior youth; Babar Azam decided to push rookie Abdullah Shafique into the order, which did not disappoint, his 33 balls 41 the highest score.
Zimbabwe won the draw and for the fifth consecutive time on tour the visitors beat first. But if the opening grandstand was an Achilles heel for Chamu Chibhabha’s team, the entire take-down order failed to show up on Tuesday. Brendan Taylor’s dry run in this format continued as he overtook Imad Wasim, while Haris Rauf caught Craig Ervine with a nice outswinger two overs later.
But it was once again the Qadir show. He demonstrated the exciting potential he brings with him with a hypnotic leg bowling spell. He persuaded a lead from Chibhabha, who scored the top for Zimbabwe with 31, with his second delivery, allowing only one break from the bat in that first over. If the previous T20I game was a demonstration of how well Qadir launched googly, today he proved he is not even a bad exponent of the traditional legbreak. By airing the ball and beating the Zimbabweans in flight consistently, he kept the running score on a leash and, as the pressure began to build, forced low percentage slogans to them.
Milton Shumba was beaten all ends by a googly who simply required the wicketkeeper to whip the bails, while Wesley Madhevere was nullified by the classic legbreak as he tried to see him out with a defensive shot. As was the case on Monday, Qadir allegedly removed Elton Chigumbura, playing his last international match, from the last ball of his spell, the inner edge of which was abruptly caught by Rizwan.
All in all, it was a parody with the Zimbabwean bat. After a smart start that saw them racking up 21 runs in the first two, they started to fade and once the wickets started dropping, the running speed started dropping too. The middle order, traditionally the strength of Zimbabwe, capitulated to a glittering bowling show, nos. From 3 to 7 managing only 27 tracks between them. It was left to a wagging tail to take Zimbabwe over 120, with Donald Tiripano’s spirited 28 combining with Wellington Masakadza for a partnership with the 33-run eighth wicket, the highest of innings.
More to follow …
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