The rain-hit opening ODI saw the hosts, Zimbabwe, pick up a stunning win against Pakistan against the odds, and they are now a win away from sealing a historic series win against the Subcontinent side.
Ahead of the crucial second ODI, here are our match preview and predictions
Also read: Pakistan Cricket Board sponsors 2024
Zimbabwe were put into bat first last time out. Salman Agha and Faisal Akram chipped in regularly with wickets, helping Pakistan restrict the hosts to 205. Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, and some late runs from Richard Ngarava helped Zimbabwe cross the 200-run mark. Williams and Raza will know that they need to convert their starts into bigger scores going forward, while captain Craig Ervine, having fallen to a soft dismissal in the first game, will also be keen on getting a bigger score.
The hosts came alive with the ball in the second innings, however. Blessing Muzarabani was tight up front and was rewarded with two big wickets before Raza and Williams’ spin put Pakistan in a hole they couldn’t get out of. It was a clinical performance from the Zimbabwean bowlers, something Ervine will hope more of in the upcoming games.
On the other hand, while their bowlers did the job, with Aamer Jamal and Mohammad Hasnain being miserly up front before Agha and Akram bowled out the hosts, Pakistan will know they should have done better after bringing Zimbabwe to 125/7. With the bat, once the rain came down and it became a shortened game, Pakistan found themselves on the back foot given their current squad structure in the shorter formats. Chasing 141 in 21 overs can essentially be considered a feasible T20I chase, but Pakistan still crumbled as captain Mohammad Rizwan could not get his squad home. Pakistan failed to even reach 100, managing 60 in their allotted overs.
The second game will also be held in Bulawayo. Should there be rain again, the hosts will be in with a shot to pick up a historic ODI series win, otherwise count on the stronger Asian side to bounce back in case of a full game.
Fantasy XI: Abdullah Shafique, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Joylord Gumbie, Mohammad Rizwan, Sikandar Raza, Salman Agha, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Richard Ngarava, Faisal Akram
Venue: Bulawayo
Winners Prediction: Pakistan
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