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| the first Twenty20 cricket match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on November 7, 2020. Photo: AFP |
Pakistan vs Zimbabwe: Babar Azam's men won comfortably by six wickets
Pakistan eased to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first T20I at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Captain Babar Azam and all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez's 36-run knock helped Pakistan pile up a 157-run target on seven balls to save a half-century.
On behalf of the visiting team, Nemat Mazarbani fast bowler took two wickets. Tandai Chatara and Richard Nagarawa took one wicket each.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first and Wesley Madhavi's 40 off 48 balls made 156 runs. The visitors also benefited from wicketkeeper Brendon Taylor's 20, Shaun Williams' 25 and Elton Chigumbura's 21 at the end of the innings. .
Among Pakistan's fast bowlers, Wahab Riaz and Haris Rauf took two wickets each, while fast bowler Muhammad Hasnain and debutant Usman Qadir took one wicket each.
Pakistan started strongly but lost opener Fakhr Zaman and middle-order batsman Haider Ali in the first eight overs. However, captain Babar Azam and veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez ensured that the team was in a commanding position before being dismissed in the 16th and 18th overs respectively.
By the time Hafeez was dismissed in the 18th over, Pakistan had scored 156 for 4 and needed just one run to win, an easy task for wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.
Babar Azam, who was also declared the man of the match for his 82 runs, said he was satisfied with his performance. He added that the Pakistani team is trying to give a chance to young players so that the team has many options in the World Cup.
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