Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by five wickets in the T20I Tri-series opener at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing a 148-run target for victory, Pakistan crossed the finish line with five wickets in hand and four balls remaining.
Fakhar Zaman was the top scorer for the Green shirts with 44 off 32 balls, laced with two fours and two huge sixes. Usman Khan contributed an unbeaten 37 off 28 balls, hitting three boundaries. Saim Ayub made 22 off 26 balls, Mohammad Nawaz an unbeaten 20 off 12 balls and Sahibzada Farhan 16 off 15 balls.
Brad Evans took two wickets while Richard Ngarava, Tinotenda Maposa and Graeme Cremer got one wicket apiece. Mohammad Nawaz was named Player of the Match for his valuable contributions with the ball and bat.
After being asked to bat first by Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, Brian Bennet (49 off 36 balls) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (33 off 22 balls) provided a good start to Zimbabwe with a solid 72-run opening partnership.
Pakistan bowlers come back strongly by taking wickets at regular intervals. Skipper Sikandar Raza (34 off 24 balls) ensured a strong finish to take the team score to 147/8 in the allocated 20 overs. Brendan Taylor contributed 14 off 14 balls, hitting two boundaries.
Mohammad Nawaz bagged two wickets, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub and Salman Mirza one each, while Tony Munyonga and Brendan Taylor were run out.
Zimbabwe Playing XI: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ryan Burl, 3 Sikandar Raza (capt.), 4 Bradley Evans, 5 Brendan Taylor (wk), 6 Tadiwanashe Marumani, 7 Tashinga Musekiwa, 8 Tony Munyonga, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Tinotenda Maposa, 11 Richard Ngarava
Pakistan Playing XI: 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Salman Ali Agha (capt), 5 Usman Khan (wk), 6 Fakhar Zaman, 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Mohammad Salman Mirza, 11 Abrar Ahmed
