LAHORE: Mubasir Khan’s century goes in vain as Zimbabwe Select beat Pakistan Shaheens by 32 runs in the sixth and final one-day of the six-match series at the Harare Sports Club in Harare, Zimbabwe on Saturday. The win means the hosts take the series 4-2. Earlier, on the tour, Pakistan Shaheens swept the four-dayers 2-0. Chasing a daunting task of 386 to win, Shaheens got off to a shaky start as they lost three wickets inside 10 overs with 50 runs on the board. At that point, Rohail Nazir and captain Kamran Ghulam got together and the pair knitted a 108-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
After the departure of right-handed Kamran (56, 47b, 6x4s, 1×6), Rohail was joined by Mubasir and both batters added 98 runs for the fifth wicket. Rohail’s 91-ball 87 came to an end in the 39th over when the right-handed batter was dismissed by left-arm spinner Sean Williams. His innings included six fours and three sixes. At the other end, Mubasir continued to play shots and kept the required run-rate in check, but he fell short of partners as Shaheens eventually fell short of the target by 32 runs. Mubasir was the last batter to get out, scoring a 77-ball 115, hitting six fours and eight sixes.
For Zimbabwe Select, Sikandar Raza was the most successful bowler, taking three wickets for 66 runs in 10 overs. Earlier, after being put into bat, Zimbabwe Select lost their opening batter Joylord Gumbie on the second ball of the match to right-arm fast Mohammad Ali. Innocent Kaia and Craig Ervine then added 187 runs for the second wicket. Kaia (92, 79b, 10x4s, 3x6s) was the next to go, getting out to Ali in the 28th over. Left-handed Ervine conjured a brilliant exhibition of batting as he scored 195 off 148 deliveries, hitting 22 fours and six sixes along the way as Zimbabwe Select amassed a mammoth 385 for seven in 50 overs. For Shaheens, Aamir Jamal and Ali bagged two wickets apiece. Aamir ended-up taking 16 wickets in the series and was declared the best bowler of the series.
Brief scores:
Zimbabwe Select beat Pakistan Shaheens by 32 runs
Zimbabwe Select 385-7, 50 overs (Craig Ervine 195, Innocent Kaia 92; Mohammad Ali 2-32, Aamir Jamal 2-89) vs Pakistan Shaheens 353 all out, 49.2 overs (Mubasir Khan 115, Rohail Nazir 87, Kamran Ghulam 56, Haseebullah 35; Sikandar Raza 3-66, Luke Jongwe 2-54, Blessing Muzarabani 2-55, Tanaka Chivanga 2-73)
Player of the match – Craig Ervine (Zimbabwe Select).