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ZIMBABWE are poised to put up a much better performance when they take on Pakistan in the second and final Test cricket match starting today at Harare Sports Club following the return of captain Brendan Taylor and all rounder Sean Williams.
The duo were absent last week for the first Test which Zimbabwe lost by 221 runs as Taylor was on leave to celebrate the birth of his new son while Williams asked to be excused from the match until his contractual dues were paid.
Zimbabwe suffered a massive defeat to go down 0-1 in the series as Saeed Ajmal toppled their batting with 11 wickets in the match. Pakistan bowlers picked up nine wickets on the final day of the first Test, with spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman taking four each. It was at the end of last week that Williams and the Zimbabwe Cricket board reached an agreement that would see the all rounder back for the second Test while Taylor has also enjoyed time with his new son.
Zimbabwe were fighting for a draw last Saturday morning but they could not hold on on the last day of play to crumble, failing to keep the Pakistan attack led by Ajmal and Rehman.
Pakistan’s 214 and a declared 419 that was stirred by Younis Khans unbeaten 200 with Zimbabwe first posting 327 but were not able to hold onto play on day five and were all out for 120 to give Pakistan their first Test win since February 2012, and Dav Whatmore’s maiden victory as their coach.
However, with the return of the duo, Zimbabwe is expected to put up a more resilient fight having managed to show what they can do as witnessed in the way they played in the first innings.
Ajmal and Rehman have been the biggest stumbling blocks in Zimbabwe’s quest for glory as they have taken a total of 15 wickets between them from the previous Test and Younis Khan is just 48 runs short of becoming the fourth Pakistan batsman to reach 7000 Test runs.
Initially the second Test match was set for Bulawayo but was moved to Harare due to logistical and financial challenges the ZC are facing and the Zimbabwe players, however, were happy with playing in Harare rather than Bulawayo.
Despite missing the services of Williams and Taylor the Chevrons were considerably stronger than most expected in the series opener with the host seam attack proving dominant in the opener led by Tinashe Panyangara.
Pakistan are likely not to play a lot with their XI as Rahat Ali was not as consistent, but could have another go, as does Khurram Manzoor at the top of the order while for Zimbabwe ,Tino Mawoyo is likely to be dropped to pave way for Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda as openers.
Masakadza who was the stand-in captain in the opener believes less time to prepare the pitch may render it slightly difficult to negotiate.
“It’s going to get a lot worse, a lot quicker. It’s going to be tough for the groundsmen with such a short turnaround and the spinners will definitely come into play much more in the second innings,” said Masakadza. Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq concurred with Masakadza saying,“The pitch is a really big concern for us. It’s going to be tricky but we need to be prepared – especially mentally prepared – and we need to be professional.”
There have only been three days between the two Tests, and the ground-staff had a tough job getting a decent pitch prepared in that time.
Online Reporter