The Pakistan bowling unit led by Sufiyan Muqeem rattled Zimbabwe for a low total and helped the side to clinch the series heading into the final T20I. The game took place on Tuesday at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bat first in the game. The decision looked alright in the initial overs with stunning display of openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani. They found consistent boundaries and displayed their aggressive intent to score runs freely. In fact, the fourth over witnessed them slamming two boundaries off Haris Rauf.
However, things changed dramatically in the fifth over bowled by Abbas Afridi. He made Marumani (16) caught at the cover point and broke the 37-run opening stand. Then, Rauf took Bennett’s wicket off the shorter delivery in the next over and sent him packing for 21.
Afridi came back in the seventh over and broke the furniture of Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza with his good-length delivery that tailed back in.
The introduction of Muqeem further piled misery on the hosts. He trapped Ryan Burl LBW for 1 off 4 in the fourth ball, and breached the defense of Tashinga Musekiwa in the next ball. He went on to dismiss Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava and Clive Madande and finished with figures of 5/3 in 2.4 overs, as Zimbabwe were all-out for 67.
The youngster register the best figures by a Pakistan bowler in T20Is. He went past Umar Gul’s record figures of 5/6, recorded twice in his career against New Zealand in 2009 and South Africa in 2013.
Pakistan openers chase down total in hurry
Chasing a meager total of 68, Pakistan were expected to chase down the total easily. However, the openers looked flawless with their shots to chase down the total in a hurry.
Omair Yousuf started the first over by slamming a couple of boundaries to take out 11 runs. The chase looked quite easy for him and the in-form Saim Ayub, as they were calculative yet aggressive with their approach.
In the third ball of the sixth over, Ayub slashed the widish delivery towards the point region to complete the chase for the Men in Green. Ayub (36*) and Yousuf (22*) remained unbeaten as the side took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Both teams will now meet in the final T20I on Thursday, December 5 at the same venue.
FAQs
How many T20Is has Sufiyan Muqeem played?
6 games (including this fixture)
Has Sufiyan Muqeem played PSL?
Yes, 5 games for Peshawar Zalmi
