2nd T20I
Sufiyan Muqeem with his five wicket haul and giving away just three runs has crushed the Zimbabwe team
Zimbabwe scored 57 in 12.4 overs, where as Pakistan scored 61/0 in 5.3 overs.
So, finally Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets.
Sufiyan Muqeem, in just his sixth T20I, delivered a career-best 5/3 to help Pakistan bundle out Zimbabwe for a mere 57, setting the stage for a dominant 10-wicket series-clinching victory in the second T20I at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
Opting to bat first, Zimbabwe’s openers, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani, started briskly.
Bennett pulled a short ball from Jahandad Khan for a six over deep mid-wicket, having earlier driven a tossed-up delivery from Abrar Ahmad for a boundary.
Marumani also made his mark, driving an overpitched ball from the pacer for a boundary.
The opening partnership kept the momentum going through the powerplay until the fifth over, when Marumani was dismissed, cutting Abbas Afridi to the cover fielder.
With the opening stand reaching 37, Zimbabwe looked set for a strong start, but Afridi’s wicket-maiden shifted the momentum.
In the following over, Bennett mistimed a pull off Haris Rauf and was caught, triggering a collapse in the Zimbabwean innings.
Wickets continued to fall regularly, and by the eighth over, Zimbabwe were reduced to 45 for 4.
However, the worst was yet to come.
Muqeem, introduced into the attack in the next over, wreaked havoc, claiming two wickets in his first over.
He trapped Ryan Burl leg-before and bowled Tashinga Mushekiwa for a duck.
He followed up with another double strike in the next over, leaving Zimbabwe reeling at 45 for 6, as they were bowled out for their lowest-ever T20I score in just 13 overs.
Chasing a modest target, Pakistan had little trouble in the run-chase.
Omair Yousuf took the initiative, hitting Sikandar Raza for boundaries through cover and past short fine leg, putting the spinner under pressure.
Saim Ayub, who had earlier cracked a boundary off Richard Ngrava, joined in as they countered Blessing Muzarabani aggressively in the third over.
After Ayub hit a boundary, Yousuf cleared deep point for a six.
The pair continued their dominance against Trevor Gwandu, comfortably surpassing the target within the powerplay.
Leave a Reply