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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan put up a man-of-the-match performance as visiting Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 11 runs in the first Twenty20 international at the Harare Sports Club this afternoon.
The hosts failed with the bat after they had restricted Pakistan to 149/7. Zimbabwe could only manage 138 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
Having won the toss in the morning, Zimbabwe skipper Sean Williams put the Asians to bat first. And, Pakistan, who were coming from a successful tour of South Africa were sluggish with the bat.
Rizwan’s unbeaten 82 runs from 61 balls guided them to a competitive total. He struck 10 boundaries and a six. The only other Pakistan batsmen to record double F digit scores were Fakhar Zaman (13) and debutant, Danish Aziz (15).
Zimbabwe’s response was disappointing. They lost wickets at regular intervals with Usman Qadir (3-29) and Mohammad Hasnain (2-27) sharing five wickets between themselves.
Craig Ervine, who missed the last series against Afghanistan on health grounds, top-scored for Zimbabwe with 34 runs. Another returnee,
Luke Jongwe, contributed an unbeaten 30 and also had two wickets to his name. The next game is on Friday.
Online Reporter