A great opportunity missed for the hosts Zimbabwe as they lost the first T20I of the 3-match series against Pakistan by a margin of 11 runs. Zimbabwe’s bowlers did all the hard work up until the 20th over in Pakistan’s innings of which Mohammad Rizwan scored 20 runs. That over proved to be the difference between the two sides in this match!
After being sent into bat first, Pakistan batsmen struggled to get going. They were struggling even at the end of the 18th over with just 124 runs on the board and just 7 wickets in hand. The only positive at that stage for Pakistan was that their opener Mohammad Rizwan was still at the crease and looking solid with the bat. He scored 20 runs off the final over bowled by Ngarava and with it he guided Pakistan to 149/7 in 20 overs. Among Zimbabwe bowlers, Madhevere and Jongwe bagged 2 wickets while Muzarabani and Ngarava bagged a wicket each.
Chasing a modest target, Zimbabwe lost two early wickets before having a 56-run stand for the third wicket. Once the third-wicket partnership is broken, Pakistan ran through Zimbabwe’s middle order. Bowler Luke Jongwe scored an unbeaten 30* off 23 deliveires in the end but his effort was not enough as Zimbabwe fell short of the target by a margin of 11 runs in the end!
Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan has been adjudged as the Player of the Match for his match-winning knock with the bat. With this victory, Pakistan are now leading the 3-match series by 1-0. The second T20I of the series will be played in Harare on Friday (Apr 23).
Brief Scores: Pakistan – 149/7 in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan – 82*, Madhevere – 2/11) defeated Zimbabwe – 138/7 in 20 overs (Craig Ervine – 34, Usman Qadir – 3/29) by a margin of 11 runs
Toss: Zimbabwe won the toss and opt to bowl first
Teams:
Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Wesley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams (c), Ryan Burl, Regis Chakabva (wk), Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava
Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf
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