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PAKISTAN are on the cusp of a 2-0 series win after regular strikes in the final session left the visitors just one wicket away from wrapping up an innings victory in the second Test at Harare Sports Club yesterday.
On a day that began with a magnificent spell of fast bowling by Hasan Ali, culminating in yet another five-wicket haul, Zimbabwe folded meekly in the first innings, and were forced to follow on.
The second time around, there were flashes of resistance disappointingly absent nearly all series, with an 80 from Regis Chakabva and Brendan Taylor’s flamboyant 30-ball 49 guaranteeing the hosts surpassed 200 for the first time this series.
Nauman Ali, though, was the chief architect of Zimbabwe’s downfall in the second, taking five wickets of his own, before Zimbabwe’s tenth wicket pair dug in to ensure the game would go to a fourth day.
In the morning session, Hasan stormed through the middle and lower order.
That helped skittle the home side out for 132, handing Pakistan a 378-run lead and the opportunity to enforce the follow-on.
The fast bowler has been in spectacular form since his return to Test cricket this year, with 19 Test wickets in his last four innings.
Zimbabwe showed more application in their final innings of the series than any other, stalling Pakistan’s charge towards a 2-0 series victory, the top order putting up dogged resistance.
Chakabva, arguably the hosts’ most solid batsman across these Tests, was the spearhead, first in defence, then in attack, as he successfully saw off the new ball before moving up a gear, taking on the Pakistan bowlers as he brought up a brisk, convincing half-century.
The contrast between the first hour and second was stark, with Zimbabwe bogged down in sheer survival mode early on.
When Taylor came out next, he took the attack to the bowlers from the outset.
His knock involved him hitting repeatedly through the air, often close to where fielders stood, relying on pinpoint precision to keep him safe.
Nauman was lofted for a pair of neatly timed airborne drives, while a flick of the wrists off Tabish Khan brought him his first six.
Before long, there was something of a swagger to Taylor’s game, and he had raced along to 49 off 30, looking all set to bring up the fastest Test half-century by a Zimbabwean.
Misfortune struck, though, with the umpire adjudging a tickle down leg side had come off the bat.
Taylor’s hands initially indicated it had clipped the hipbone, but when the umpire raised his finger, the hand went to his head in despair. Zimbabwe’s most enterprising partnership had been broken after 79 runs, and the resistance to follow was feeble.
Chakabva continued to motor along, refusing to let the run-scoring come to a halt, or allow any bowler to settle. Few would have begrudged him a hundred, but his approach carried inevitable risk, and when a swipe off Nauman caught the outside edge, Babar Azam held on to a sharp catch.
Scores
Zimbabwe 132 (Chakabva 33, Hasan Ali 5-27) and 220 for 9 (Chakabva 80, Taylor 49, Shaheen 4-45, Nauman 5-86) trail Pakistan 510 for 8 dec (Abid Ali 215, Azhar Ali 126) by 158 runs — ESPNCricinfo.
Online Reporter