Pakistan 148 for 0 (Ayub 113*, Shafique 32*) Zimbabwe 145 (Myers 33, Williams 31, Abrar 4-33, Salman 3-26) for ten wickets
Pakistan made up for a lackluster performance in the first ODI with a near-perfect performance in the second, crushing Zimbabwe by ten wickets to level the series. Opener Saim Ayub scored the fastest ODI hundred of any Pakistani other than Shahid Afridi, reaching three figures in 53 balls as Pakistan cruised towards the target of 146 with 32 overs to spare. Completing a complete performance after Pakistan’s spinners put Zimbabwe at a disadvantage after being asked to bowl first, debutant Abrar Ahmed’s 4 for 33 was the pick of the bunch as Zimbabwe were bowled out in 32.3 overs.
It was obvious that Zimbabwe had fallen well below par in the first innings, but Pakistan had slipped to 60 for 6 in the first ODI, and knew there was a job to do when a target, however modest, was set for them. This time, however, there was no drama as the first few matches started brightly and continued in the same vein. Ayub led the way, his natural aggression neutralizing Blessing Muzarabani’s initial threat and giving Abdullah Shafique the space to get into shape.
There were a couple of nervousness at first. Richard Ngarava took a thick outside edge from Ayub that flew into the empty second slip region, while an errant drive from Shafique found Sean Williams at the back point, only for the fielder to bomb it.
By then, Ayub had started purring. Trevor Gwandu, the first change, was greeted with two excellent shots on the off side, followed by a four and a six in his second over. Those six generated a 32-ball half-century for Ayub, and he was still only in third gear.
The spinners could do little in the absence of pressure on the scoreboard. Legspinner Brandon Mavuta was sent down for three successive boundaries at the start of the 14th over and leaked 47 in the four overs he bowled.
Sikandar Raza too could not be the handbrake he usually is, and Ayub removed it at will. It was from him that Ayub got the cap that took him to three figures. His low-key celebration (removing his helmet and a smile in the locker room) did not reflect the brilliance of the innings, but his teammates applauding in the pavilion knew he had done his job.
In the first innings, Pakistan’s spinners put in a dominant performance with the ball, bowling Zimbabwe for 145. After winning the toss and batting first, Zimbabwe got off to a bright start thanks to Dion Myers’ entertaining 33 off 30 balls, but to the lack of a meaningful play. The contributions combined with the discipline of Pakistan’s spinners meant that Zimbabwe were unable to establish substantial partnerships.
Tadiwanashe Marumani and Joylord Gumbie took part in the second race in as many matches to break the initial stand. Abrar Ahmed, opening the bowling alongside Aamer Jamal, made a sharp turn to get rid of Gumbie for his first ODI wicket before Myers and Craig Ervine began to rebuild.
Ervine was quite content to let Myers be the aggressor, and the 38 the two together brought Zimbabwe back to something resembling a level playing field. But Salman Agha, perhaps the pick of Pakistan’s spinners that day, trapped Myers in front and got a cut from Ervine to keep Zimbabwe behind, and from then on, wickets fell at regular intervals.
Another rebuild, this time by Williams and Raza, was thwarted after Salman made Raza get into the off side to reduce Zimbabwe to 97 for 5. The lower-order collapse came when Williams attempted reverse sweep in front of Ayub, he left him trapped in front. and the rest sank in a heap.
Zimbabwe lost the last five wickets for 24 runs as Abrar returned to catch his fourth, while Faisal Akram cleaned up Muzarabani to end the innings. He looked well under par then, and when Ayub finished, that couldn’t have been clearer.
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