WANTS MORE: Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha was in action during the recently concluded Sri Lanka T20Is. Photo: AFP/File
Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha emphasised the need for a more “ruthless” approach in the powerplay overs after his side scraped past Zimbabwe by five wickets in the opening match of the T20I tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Put into field, Pakistan were put under early pressure as Zimbabwe openers Tadiwanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett motored to 59 without loss in the powerplay — the Chevrons’ second-highest powerplay score against Pakistan in T20Is. But despite the flying start, Zimbabwe faltered as Mohammad Nawaz spearheaded a strong Pakistan comeback, restricting them to a modest 147/8.
“It was a close game. We didn’t start well with either bat or ball, and when you don’t start well, the game tends to get close,” Agha said during the post-match presentation.
He credited Pakistan’s spin unit for dragging the team back into the contest, noting their consistent form over recent months. Agha revealed he anticipated a lower-scoring clash after assessing the surface on match eve.
“The spinners have been doing well for the last 4–5 months. They were the ones who put us back in the game,” he said. “When we saw the pitch last night, I knew it wasn’t going to be high scoring. It’s been that way lately in Pindi. It looked like a 160–180 kind of wicket, but we bowled really well. I was very happy chasing 147.”
Agha concluded with a clear message for his team heading into the next fixtures: start stronger, especially in the powerplay.
“We need to start well, bowling or batting. In the powerplay, we need to be ruthless. That’s what I’m going to talk about.”
Pakistan will now face Sri Lanka in their second match of the tri-series on Saturday, again in Rawalpindi.
Earlier, Pakistan began their campaign in the Tri-nation T20I series with a five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe as they chased the 148-run target with four balls to spare here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night.
Zimbabwe will now take on Sri Lanka at the same venue on Thursday, 20 November in the second match of the series.
Player of the match Mohammad Nawaz’s all-round contributions (4-0-22-2, 21 not out off 12) coupled with a crucial 61-run fifth-wicket stand between Fakhar Zaman (44, 32b, 2x4s, 2x6s) and Usman Khan (37 not out, 28b, 3x4s) led Pakistan to their third T20I win in their last four fixtures.
Zimbabwe’s opening pair of Brian Bennett (49, 36b, 8x4s) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (30, 22b, 3x4s, 1×6) put on a solid 72-run stand in eight overs after Pakistan opted to bowl first.
Pakistan’s bowling attack reined in Zimbabwe’s batting line-up taking eight wickets for 75 runs in the remaining 12 overs after Nawaz halted the opening duo’s advance.
After walking in to bat at 94-3 in the 13th over, skipper Sikandar Raza remained unbeaten for 34 off 24 balls (3x4s, 1×6) including a six and a four in the last over of innings.
In turn, Pakistan stumbled to 54-4 after Saim Ayub (22, 26b, 1×4, 1×6) and Sahibzada Farhan (16, 15b, 3x4s) put on 27 runs for the opening stand.
Fakhar and Usman came together when Pakistan required 94 runs off 63 balls and saw off boundary-less 11th over. Usman then hit a boundary each in 12th and 13th over, while Fakhar found a six each in the next two overs bringing the equation down to 42 needed off last five overs.
Zimbabwe threatened to tighten the screws with Fakhar’s scalp in the 16th over off Richard Ngarava before Nawaz walked in and stitched an unbeaten 36-run match-winning stand with Usman.
Nawaz hit a six over long-on off Brad Evans in the 17th over after which Pakistan required 17 off the last two overs. The duo then gathered 12 runs off Evans in the penultimate over as in a dramatic turn of events he overstepped, they dropped Nawaz and Usman hit a four in a space of two balls.
Tinotenda Maposa – defending five runs off the last over – got hit for back-to-back fours by Nawaz on the first two balls as Pakistan got over the line.
