In the second T20I, not much went right for Zimbabwe as they lost by eight wickets and handed Pakistan 2-0 in the three-match series. Until Babar Azam and Haider Ali eased the side to a win in 15.1 overs, Haris Rauf and Usman Qadir bagged three wickets each to hold Zimbabwe to 135.
Rauf Dents Zimbabwe Early:
There were some encouraging strokes that showed glimpses of potential until Zimbabwe were asked to bat. In the second over and then Chamu Chibhabha in the fourth over, however, Rauf dismissed Brendan Taylor to hurt their progress. Zimbabwe had hit five boundaries between the two wickets to make good progress.
It was nullified by the pacer, however. In the fifth over, Faheem Ashraf dismissed Sean Williams as the visitors terminated the powerplay with 45 on the board.
Usman Qadir’s Time To Shine:
In the eighth over, the legspinner was inserted into the attack and was struck on the first ball for a six. However, to settle in, he bowled five dots after that in that over. Qadir dismissed Sikandar Raza in his second over and Madhevere two balls later.
The leg spinner landed the knockout punch in three balls as Zimbabwe could never actually recover from the two blows. Elton Chigumbura got 18 while Donald Tiripano scored 15 to drive the score past 130 to give the bowlers something to fight with. Ryan Burl made 32 off 22.
Fakhar Zaman’s Troubles Continue:
Fakhar Zaman should have taken the time to settle in, with an easy chase ahead of him. In the third over, however, after a sequence of dot balls, he perished. He chipped a skiddy delivery to mid-on to fall for 5 off 11 and gave his first wicket to Blessing Muzarabani.
Babar, Ali Floor Zimbabwe:
Even after Muzarabani hit early, he was easily dispatched two balls later by Ali for a six. This shot was a symbol of the things that were to come. As Ali and Babar scored 100 to shut the door on the tourists, none of the Zimbabwe bowlers had any responses.
In his first ten deliveries, Babar struck four fours to get a brisk start and never really looked back. Ali first brought up his half-century-with a six against Raza-when Babar hit a boundary milestone. As he dismissed Babar for 51 out of 28, Muzarabani was able to make another breakthrough, but Pakistan needed just 25 by then.
