Pakistan open T20I Tri-Series with win over Zimbabwe

Wednesday, 19 November 2025 00:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Fakhar Zaman hit Pakistan out of trouble with 44 off 32 balls

Openers Tadiwanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett gave Zimbabwe a good start posting 72

Pakistan’s middle order came to their rescue in the opening game of the Pakistan T20I Tri-Series enabling them to beat Zimbabwe by five wickets with 4 balls to spare at Rawalpindi yesterday.

At 54-4 near the halfway mark Pakistan looked in danger of bottling up, but it was in the final 10 overs of both innings they came off best. Fakhar Zaman (44 off 32 balls (2 fours, 2 sixes) and Usman Khan (37* off 28 balls, 3 fours) helped Pakistan recover from a poor first power play where they lost three for 30. The pair added a valuable 61 off 39 balls to put the innings back on track and Player of the Match Mohammed Nawaz took the team home with 20* off 12 balls sharing a stand of 36* off 21 balls with Usman. Zimbabwe’s bowlers did very well to keep things tight and force mistakes, and were backed up by some excellent fielding, but a dropped chance, a no-ball free hit in the penultimate over proved their undoing.

Zimbabwe began on a positive note with their openers Tadiwanashe Marumani (30 off 22 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) and Brian Bennett (49 off 36 balls, 8 fours) taking charge in the powerplay and posting 72 for the first wicket, but Pakistan wrestled back control once Mohammad Nawaz entered the attack and broke the stand. From there, wickets fell steadily. Bennett fell just short of a deserved fifty after a soft caught and bowled from Saim Ayub, and the collapse continued. Despite their strong start, Zimbabwe’s middle order couldn’t convert the momentum, and the innings lost steam rapidly. From 91-1 they collapsed to 147-8. Sikandar Raza played a handy cameo (34* off 24 balls, 3 fours, 1 six), but lacked support from the other batters and Zimbabwe ended up with a mediocre total. The batters towards the later stages should have played sensibly, rather than play rash shots and throwing away their wickets. Mohammad Nawaz was Pakistan’s best with the ball, taking 2/24. Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub took one wicket each. Zimbabwe also lost two batters to run outs, partly caused by the pressure the spinners built.

Scores: Zimbabwe 147-8 (20) (Brian Bennett 49, Tadiwanashe Marumani 30, Sikandar Raza 34*, Mohammad Nawaz 2/22)

Pakistan 151-5 (19.2) (Saim Ayub 22, Fakhar Zaman 44, Usman Khan 37*, Mohammad Nawaz 21*, Brad Evans 2/26)