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

The visitors included Saim Ayub in the T20I squad just before the start of the series and the in-form left-hander helped get them going. Omair Yousaf took on Blessing Muzarabani in the second over but was lucky to be out there as he was dropped in the first over. Zimbabwe’s catching was a problem for much of the innings; in the following run, Usman Khan was dropped the first ball he faced. Ayub scooped the next ball over point for a brilliant six while Usman helped himself to 11 in the over that followed. By the end of the fifth over, Pakistan had romped to 49, and on a batting surface, 200 did not look unrealistic.

Sikandar Raza’s consistency is almost boring at this point, but he was at his all-round best on Sunday. He brought himself to the plate when Pakistan were hovering at the end of the powerplay, sending down four near-perfect overs and barely landing a ball in the wrong place. 13 of his 24 deliveries were dot balls as he allowed just 14 runs during his spell. It was during this time that Pakistan slowed almost to a grinding halt, reeling off 63 deliveries without a boundary.

At the other end, Ryan Burl and Wellington Masakadza held down the fort as wickets fell at regular intervals; between the end of 6. over and the start of the 19th, Pakistan could only score 79 runs in 13 overs. That will invariably leave Pakistan with questions to ask of their middle order, who seemed unable to handle the pressure or keep the scoring rate up, with captain Salman Ali Agha struggling most of all.

A stampede in the last two overs took Pakistan to 165 but Zimbabwe came out of the traps full of belief that they could chase this one down. Undeterred by the early loss of Brian Bennett and Dion Myers, Marumani and Raza took on Pakistan and hammered them in the powerplay. Marumani plundered 20 off Jehandad Khan’s second over, while three consecutive fours by Raza off Abrar Ahmed took Zimbabwe to 50 in the fifth over, faster than Pakistan had managed during their spirited start.

But Zimbabwe’s Achilles heel has been the lower middle order and it showed once again. As soon as a careless run-out set paid off for Marumani’s innings, the rot set in again. Raza was isolated at the non-striker’s end as Pakistan helped themselves to victory. Rauf got Ryan Burl to slam one to mid-off while Muqeem dismissed Clive Madande and it soon became clear that any effort to prevail would have to be a one-man show.

But a lovely change of pace from Jehandad Khan and a crisp catch from Ayub brought the curtains down on Raza’s enterprising knock and the game was over as a contest. Muqeem struck twice in the following over, while Abrar polished off the victory with the last wicket; Zimbabwe had lost their last eight in 43 balls.