Daily Times

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan won by 26 runs against Zimbabwe in the series-opening one-day international at the Pindi Cricket Stadium here on Friday. Pakistan lead the three-match ODI series 1-0. Zimbabwe were all out for 255 runs with two balls remaining. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wahab Riaz starred among bowlers as they picked five and four wickets respectively. All-rounder Imad Wasim also took one wicket. The tourists, in their chase of a 282-run target set by Pakistan, got off to a shaky start when Afridi bowled opener Brian Chari (2) on the third ball of the innings. Despite a remarkable century by Brendan Taylor, who scored 112 off 116 balls and hit 11 boundaries and three sixes, Zimbabwe could not recover from the onslaught of the Pakistan bowlers. Craig Ervine (41) and Wesley Madhevere (52) also stood out amongst Zimbabwe’s batsmen.

Earlier, after winning the toss, Pakistan their innings with 281 runs at the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Abid Ali was the first to be sent back to the pavilion in the middle of the tenth over after scoring 21 runs. He was followed by Babar Azam and Imamul Haq who scored 19 and 58 runs, respectively. The next casualty was Mohammad Rizwan who fell in the 37th over after scoring a meagre 14 and was followed by Iftikhar Ahmed (12) in the 41st over. With six fours and two sixes, Haris Sohail tried to stabilise the team scoring 71 off 82 balls but he fell to Sikandar Raza in the 42nd over.

Both teams are opening their World Cup Super League campaigns after the International Cricket Council introduced the competition to bring context to ODI cricket. The top seven teams in the league will directly qualify for the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India. The league features 13 countries playing four three-match ODI series (home and away). Babar, who leads Pakistan in Twenty20s, is captaining for the first time in the ODI format. He was appointed ODI captain during the lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic. Pakistan gave an ODI debut to fast bowler Haris Rauf, who received his cap from bowling coach Waqar Younis before the toss. The home team picked their playing XI with four fast bowlers, with allrounder Faheem Ashraf getting a nod ahead of uncapped leg-spinner Usman Qadir. Zimbabwe, led by Chamu Chibhabha, left out experienced batsman Elton Chigumubura for the first match of the three-match series. Fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani returned to ODI format after nearly two years. The Zimbabwe series, which also features three Twenty20 Internationals at the same venue, is the beginning of a busy season for Pakistan who are also slated to host England and South Africa.