HARARE: Green Shirts defeated Zimbabwe here on Wednesday 21st of April by eleven runs in the first fixture of the 3-match T20I series at the Harare Sports Club to have a 1-0 lead in the three match series. 

Home team won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat. Innings of the Green Shirts was dominated by Mohammad Rizwan whose bat yielded 82 runs off 61 balls. Luke Jongwe and Wesley Madhevere picked two wickets each while Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani picked one wicket each.

Chasing the 150 runs for 7 target set by the Green Shirts, Zimbabwe’s Craig Ervine scored 34. Leg-spinner Usman Qadir dismissed three batsmen including Craig Ervine in four overs. Mohammad Hasnain got two scalps, while Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hafeez picked one wicket each.

Pakistan scored 149-7 in allocated 20 overs. Zimbabwe lost 3 for 29 runs (facing Usman Qadir) and 2 batsman for 27 (while facing Mohammad Hasnain). As a result hosts were kept to 138 for 7 in their 20 overs.

Opener Tinashe Kamunhukamwe scored 29 while Luke Jongwe’s bat yielded 30 (not out) with the help of three boundaries and a six. Wesley Madhevere and Jongwe took two wickets each. Pakistan’s Babar Azam went back to the pavilion in the second over, Fakhar Zaman made 13, Danish scored Aziz 15, Mohammad Hafeez  and Haider Ali five each.

Teams
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wicket keeper), Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf.

Zimbabwe: Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Wesley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams (captain), Ryan Burl, Regis Chakabva (wicketkeeper), Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava.

Umpires: Iknow Chabi (ZIM) and Langton Rusere (ZIM);

TV umpire: Christopher Phiri (ZIM); Match Referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM).

The second and third matches in the three-game series will be played at the same venue (Harare) on Friday 23rd  and Saturday 24th of April, 2021.

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