Right-hand batter Brian Bennett brilliant performance guided Zimbabwe to victory over Pakistan by two wickets in the third and final T20I match of the series at the Queens Sports Club on Thursday. Brian Bennett played a knock of 43 runs off 35 balls which was laced with six boundaries and a maximum in his innings. He was awarded the Player of the Match for this performance.
Having restricted Pakistan to a total of 132/7, Zimbabwe rode on a strong start from Brian Bennett(43 off 35) but faced plenty of hurdles as the innings progressed. They eventually got over the line with a delivery to spare, thanks to debutant Tinotenda Maposa’s crucial cameo (12 off 4) in the final over.
Zimbabwe responded strongly initially with opener Brian Bennett scoring 43, but the Pakistan bowlers hit back and the loss of home captain Sikandar Raza (19) spelt trouble. Needing 12 runs from the last over for victory, Tinotenda Maposa struck a four, a six and a single to level the scores with three balls remaining. Pakistan, seeking a series sweep after winning the first two matches by 57 runs and 10 wickets respectively, rested several key players and made 132-7 off 20 overs in Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe grabbed a consolation two-wicket victory over Pakistan in a thrilling final T20I on Thursday, with tailender Richard Ngarava getting them over the line with one ball to spare.
Pitch Report and Toss
The surface at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo is one that is preferred by the bowlers. The pacers especially get some help from the surface, and the batters should stay patient in the early stages of the clash. Opting to bat first after winning the toss could be a wise decision
Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha won the toss and chose to bat with as many as four changes in the playing XI resting key players like Haris Rauf and Saim Ayub. Sikandar Raza skipper of Zimbabwe who also wanted to bat first also made changes in the playing XI handing debut to Tinotenda Maposa.
Zimbabwe bowlers restrict Pakistan to 132 in 20 overs
Stung by heavy criticism after an embarrassing collapse in the second T20I, Zimbabwe came out with a much greater intensity. Blessing Muzarabani had Omair Yousuf hole out for a duck, before Wellington Masakadza, who was accurate throughout, outwitted Sahibzada Farhan. A tentative little dab from Usman Khan off Muzarabani brought the third wicket, and Zimbabwe had the better of the powerplay by a distance.
Earlier, having already clinched the series, Pakistan made four changes for this game, bringing in Sahibzada Farhan, Qasim Akram, Arafat Minhas and Mohammad Hasnain. They opted to bat but found themselves in early trouble, reduced to 19/3 in four overs. Blessing Muzarabani and Masakadza did the damage, dismissing the top three of Farhan, Omair Yousuf and Usman Khan for a collective 9 runs.
Tayyab Tahir tried to counter-attack, scoring three fours and a six for his 14-ball 21 while skipper Salman played the anchor’s role. This partnership, however, ended on 33 runs off 23 balls when debutant Tinotenda Maposa sent Tahir back. Akram then struck a 15-ball 20 in a 30-run stand with Salman but Pakistan slipped to 92/6 after the two batters fell in quick succession. A measured 22 not out off 26 from Minhas and Afridi’s handy 15 off 14 helped Pakistan cross the 130 mark.
Raza realized Pakistan were struggling against spin, and brought himself, Ryan Burl and Brian Bennett on at various stages through the middle overs. Pakistan were batting with a rather long tail, which necessitated a rebuild through the middle overs.
Salman Agha struck up handy partnerships with Tayyab Tahir and Qasim Akram to keep the visitors ticking over, before useful cameos from Arafat Minhas and Abbas Afridi got Pakistan beyond three figures. It was only an untidy 13-run final over from Muzarabani that got Pakistan past 130 against a bowling attack that offered them very little throughout the innings. It was so very nearly enough.
Debutant Tinotenda Maposa’s last-over heroics and Brian Bennett wins thriller for Zimbabwe to stun Pakistan in 3rd T20I
Zimbabwe were off to a brisk start in the chase, with Brian Bennett and Tadiwanshe Marumani dealing in regular boundaries, with the latter also being reprieved early on. As many as seven fours were struck in the first three overs as the opening stand raced to 40 before Salman Agha picked up the wicket of Marumani. Brian Bennett, however, continued to attack, powering Zimbabwe to 56/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Pakistan were defending a low total, and Zimbabwe’s openers essentially broke the back of it. The intent was clear when Brian Bennett whipped Mohammad Hasnain to the square leg boundary off the first ball of the innings. Marumani, who has had the better of Jahandad for much of this series, whipped him through the offside for a pair of boundaries in the second over, and from thereon Zimbabwe were flying.
But when Hasnain lined up for his second over, he was in for a flaying at Brian Bennett’s hands. His line and length was all over the place and the batter was only too happy to take advantage with a pair of boundaries on each side of the wicket, plundering 19 off the errant over. Salman hastily brought himself into the attack, and Marumani insolently reverse swept him on the first-ball. It had taken them just 19 balls to get to 40, and the required rate was now under five.
Zimbabwe were well-placed at 70/1 after 9 overs, with Brian Bennett and Dion Myers building a steady partnership. But both batters fell in successive overs as Pakistan found an avenue to make a comeback. With Wessly Madhevere and Ryan Burl also falling cheaply, Zimbabwe slipped to 94/5. Sikandar Raza tried to hold the innings together but was dismissed for 19 off 20, leaving Zimbabwe with 21 to get off the last two overs.
There’s no better indicator of the start Muqeem has made in T20I cricket that Pakistan turned to him for a miracle when they needed wickets and a reining in of the run rate. No batter could truly pick out his wrong-un, and his figures of 4-1-19-1 did not do justice to the full breadth of his wizardry.
There were multiple pokes that barely missed the outside edge, and a couple of top edges that might so easily have gone straight to slip. It culminated in a beguiling final over to Musekiwa, who desperately tried to see him off, willing to play out a maiden as the asking rate spiked after every ball. On any other day, Muqeem would have wrapped the game up before his spell ended, and on the evidence of this series, there will be many more such days.
Wellington Masakadza struck a crucial boundary off Abbas Afridi but fell soon after, and the equation came down to 12 off the final over. Debutant Tinotenda Maposa did the star turn off the first two balls off the last over, striking a four and a six off Jahandad Khan. He took a single off the third ball to level the scores (after a missed run-out chance), following which the bowler hit back with the wicket of Tashinga Musekiwa. Richard Ngarava remained calm and took the winning single.
In pursuit of 133 after a insipid batting performance from Pakistan, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanshe Marumani appeared to have made this game routine when Zimbabwe blazed to 50 in five overs. But with a middle order as fragile as Zimbabwe’s no game is truly done, and even when the hosts sat pretty at 73 for 1 with more than half the overs the spare, Pakistan knew they were in with a shot, not least because of a Sufiyan Muqeem-shaped trump card who ran rampant through the middle overs once more.
Within a five-over spell, 73 for 1 became 94 for 5, with Muqeem piling on the pressure as Abbas Afridi cleaned up from the other end. With four overs to go, the run rate was pushing 12.
Pakistan believed Sikandar Raza stood between them and victory, and when Zimbabwe’s talisman miscued tamely to long-on off Jahandad Khan, the game looked as good as gone for Zimbabwe. Needing 12 off the final over with 21-year-old Tinotenda Maposa – on T20 debut – on strike, things appeared bleak.
But a squirted boundary was followed up by a monstrous hoick over square leg for six that brought Zimbabwe to within two runs of victory. There was time for more drama when Tashinga Musekiwa went for a glory shot and miscued, but a Bulawayo crowd full of soulful singing was not to be denied this time.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Salman Ali Agha the Pakistan skipper said : It’s been outstanding – the way youngsters put on a show and I have been very proud of them. I would like to score more runs but I’m happy contributing with my bowling and also captaincy. It will be a long tour against South Africa, will be sore bodies but we will go there and try to win there as well.
[on Saim Ayub and Muqeem] Both have a long future ahead, both will serve Pakistan for a long time. Want to thank Zimbabwe crowd – enjoyed every single game and thank you for your contribution and see you soon.
Sikandar Raza the Zimbabwe skipper said : We wanted to win the series but unfortunately we couldn’t. The desire to beat Pakistan was there and finishing with a win is incredibly satisfying. We had a tough tour but we backed the youngsters and for them to win it today was heartwarming to see. We did not want to dwell on the past, had we done so, we couldn’t have won today.
We wanted to get that first loss out of the system, we had another bad game and we wanted to get that out of the system too. Today I thought the bowling attack did really well to restrict them to 133. Unfortunately it can happen, first time Tashinga has faced a Chinaman, but he will learn a lot from today, and we have Afghanistan anyway next.
A few bad games won’t define him and his career and me and everyone will continue to back him. We felt that with the way Tinotenda swings, it was going to fly, one edge and one middle of the bat and we won. I was reading a stat that Pakistan are one of the top sides in T20 cricket, to win against them will keep us in good stead and help us a lot going forward.
Brian Bennett Player of the Match for his innings said : It’s nice to contribute to the team winning, we have got Afghanistan next week, so it’s nice to take some momentum into next week. We have a saying in the group – it’s always team first and wherever the coaches want me to bat, I am happy. We are a young team and we are always learning, good to finish with a win today. Very confident, not to get too far ahead of myself though, got a few days off and on to the next one.
Sufiyan Muqeem is Player of the Series for his performance with the ball The presentation host – Tino Mawoyo though doesn’t call him for a chat. So no interview with Muqeem.
A consolation win for Zimbabwe but they nearly made a meal of this too. Just their 3rd win against Pakistan in T20Is. The chase was set up by Brian Bennett who hammered boundaries at will in the powerplay. But when he fell in the 10th over with the score at 73, there was a wobble from the Zimbabweans. Wickets fell at regular intervals and that allowed Pakistan to get back in.
Tashinga Musekiwa struggled and even played out a maiden over in the 16th against Sufiyan Muqeem that ramped up the asking rate. When Raza fell, it looked like Zimbabwe would fall short but it was the day of the debutant – Tinotenda Maposa – the hometown hero, he nerveless smashed a four and a six in the last over to all but seal the deal. Still there was a twist as Musekiwa fell with the scores level but Ngarava hit the winning run to give something for the home crowd to cheer. The series though ends 2-1 in favor of Pakistan
On Tuesday, the Zimbabwean cricket team let Bulawayo’s exhilarating crowd down, but today, they picked them right back up. In a nerve-shredding encounter, Zimbabwe controlled, won, threw away and eventually stole a roller-coaster of a game off the penultimate delivery.
A slap from Richard Ngarava that thudded into the stumps at the non-striker’s end, a hesitant jitter, and a scampered single was what it took to seal a two-wicket win that will feel much more significant than the mere consolation it will be recorded as in a 2-1 series defeat against Pakistan.
Only if Zimbabwe would have shown the same spirit as they did today, the scoreline could have been different. They did well on the opening day of the tour and on the last day. The performances sandwiched between the two were mediocre and even a young Pakistan outfit became too hot to handle for the hosts. Pakistan known for its mercurial performances faced a lot of flak after their first ODI but bounced back in style. The juggernaut kickstarted and they clinched the T20I series with a game to spare.
But Zimbabwe put up a brave front today and snatched a consolation win. This win might keep them in good stead going ahead. Zimbabwe have learnt to land few right punches in a series but consistent jabs are still amiss. But as their skipper says, they need to be persistent and confident about this young lot.
The trophy is presented to Agha who promptly gives it to Usman Khan and Sufiyan Muqeem. They pose for the cameras and then the others join in. Abbas Afridi snatches the player of the series award from Muqeem and also the series trophy from Usman Khan and holds both of them together as he poses with it. Certainly having some fun is Abbas. All smiles in the Pakistan camp.
That’s it from this series. Pakistan will face South Africa now and Zimbabwe will get ready for Afghanistan. Quick turnaround for both sides and the lessons imparted here I am sure will come in handy.