Pakistan Beaten at 165 for 4 (Tayyab 39*, Usman 39, Raza 1-14). Zimbabwe 108 (Raza 39, Muqeem 3-20 Abrar 3-28) for 57 runs

The visitors included Saim Ayub in the T20I squad just before the start of the series and the in-form left-hander was instrumental in helping them get back on their feet. Omair Yousaf took on Blessing Muzarabani in the second round but was lucky to be out there as he was dropped in the first round. Zimbabwe’s catching was a problem in most of the innings; In the following over, Usman Khan was brought down the first ball he faced. Ayub took the next ball over point for a glorious six while Usman took 11 in the following over. By the end of the fifth over, Pakistan had reached 49 and on one batting surface 200 did not seem unrealistic.

Sikandar Raza’s consistency is almost boring at this point, but on Sunday he was at his all-round best. When Pakistan were on the rise at the end of the Powerplay, he came into the game and batted four near-perfect overs, barely putting a ball out of place. Thirteen of his 24 deliveries were dot balls as he allowed just 14 runs during his tenure. During this period, Pakistan almost came to a standstill and made 63 deliveries without a boundary.

At the other end, Ryan Burl and Wellington Masakadza held the fort as wickets fell at regular intervals; Between the end of the 6th over and the beginning of the 19th over, Pakistan could only score 79 runs in 13 overs. This will inevitably leave Pakistan with questions about their middle order, who seemed unable to withstand the pressure or maintain the scoring rate, with captain Salman Ali Agha struggling the most.

An onslaught in the last two overs took Pakistan to 165, but Zimbabwe came out of the trap full of belief that they could do it. Unfazed by the early defeats of Brian Bennett and Dion Myers, Marumani and Raza took on Pakistan in the powerplay and defeated them. Marumani took 20 from Jehandad Khan’s second over, while Raza hit three fours in a row off Abrar Ahmed to take Zimbabwe to 50 in the fifth over, quicker than Pakistan had managed in their brisk start.

But Zimbabwe’s Achilles heel has been the lower middle class, and that has been proven once again. As soon as Marumani’s innings was ended by a careless run-out, the rot set in again. Raza was isolated at the non-striker’s side as Pakistan helped themselves to the wickets. Rauf blasted Ryan Burl down the middle while Muqeem sent off Clive Madande and it quickly became clear that any attempt to claim victory would have to be a one-man show.

But a nice change from Jehandad Khan and a sharp catch point from Ayub canceled out Raza’s enterprising strike and the game ended as a contest. Muqeem struck twice in the following over while Abrar completed the victory with the last wicket; Zimbabwe had lost their last eight games in 43 balls.