Zimbabwe 133 for 8 (Bennett 43, Afridi 3-24) batted Pakistan 132 for 7 (Salman 32, Muzarabani 2-25) with two wickets

Tidy Zimbabwe leaves Pakistan in a mess

Realizing that Pakistan were struggling against spin, Raza brought himself, Ryan Burl and Brian Bennett on at various stages through the middle overs. Pakistan batted with a fairly long tail, necessitating a rebuild through the middle overs. Salman Agha struck handy partnerships with Tayyab Tahir and Qasim Akram to keep the visitors ticking over, before useful cameos from Arafat Minhas and Abbas Afridi got Pakistan past three figures. It was only a messy 13-run final over from Muzarabani that got Pakistan past 130 against a bowling attack that offered them very little throughout the innings. That was almost enough.

Bennett and Marumani burn Pakistan

Pakistan defended a low total and Zimbabwe’s openers mainly broke the back of it. The intent was clear when Bennett whipped Mohammad Hasnain to the square boundary off the first ball of the innings. Marumani, who has had the better of Jahandad for much of this series, smashed him through the offside for a couple of boundaries in the second over and from there Zimbabwe were flying.

But when Hasnain lined up for his second over, he was ready for a launch into Bennett’s hands. His line and length were all over the place and the batsman was only too happy to take advantage of a couple of boundaries either side of the wicket, plundering 19 off the errant over. Salman quickly brought himself into the attack and Marumani cheekily reverse swept him on the first ball. It had taken them just 19 balls to reach 40 and the required rate was now under five.

Muqeem’s magic almost derails Zimbabwe

There is no better indicator of the start Muqeem has made in T20I cricket that Pakistan turned to him for a miracle when they needed wickets and a rein in the runs. No batter could really pick out his wrong-un and his figures of 4-1-19-1 did not do justice to the full breadth of his wizardry. There were several plugs that barely missed the outside edge, and a few top edges that could so easily have gone straight to sliding. It culminated in a seductive final over to Musekiwa, who desperately tried to get him away, willing to play a maiden as the asking rate rose after every ball.

On any other day, Muqeem would have finished the game before his spell ended, and on the evidence of this series, there will be many more such days.