I've always been a firm believer that minnows pulling the rug from under the older members is near-impossible in the longer format. Bangladesh's record for instance, proves so with the only meaningful victories coming against a depleted Zimbabwe outfit from 2004, and a side in the Caribbean that didn't even deserve the tag of a West Indies A team.

Zimbabwe too, have clocked up wins only when they had their greats in the past, aside from the two against Bangladesh in 2011 and 2013. When it comes to the figurative full member nations, they come close but never pass the finish line. This was exhibited as recently as in the last game when it wasn't unfathomable that they were firm favourites to win the game outright at one point. Another example off the top of my head includes a steep 4th innings run chase against New Zealand a couple of years ago, which Vettori killed with three quick wickets to leave them 30-odd short.

This is the only factor that makes me skeptical, waving the flag for Zimbabwe in this game. They're 30/1 at the moment with a lead of 94, but track records tell us that it might cave in before you know it.

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Is Adnan Akmal the long term solution to keep wickets and serve as a lower-middle order batsman?

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Middle-order batsman Ayub Dogar turns 34 today. He was born in Nankana Sahib, Punjab.  He falls under the category of players who performed well at the domestic level but got their 'international' chance much later in their career. 

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Usama Mir is a right-arm leg-break bowler from Silakot, with an unorthodox action. Mir spoke to PakPassion.net about his career and future plans.

315 is the highest they have chased in the 4th innings of a Test.  Why have they not been able to chase higher scores?

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Legendary Pakistan Spinner spoke about his frustration with Pakistani spinners and feels that they need guidance but isnt the main blame with Pakistani batsmen?

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With the current state of Pakistani batting, South African bowlers will be licking their lips at the chance of facing up to Pakistan! How will Pakistan batsmen fare against SA bowlers in UAE?

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Zimbabwe lead by 185 with two days to go after a dominant performance on Day 3.

Teams considered 'Minnows' often compete hard but ultimately fall short in Test Cricket with upsets generally very rare.

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With the bowlers, they can do warm up routines etc and could be ready to bowl at their best from ball 1 of the day but I am curious to know how batsmen get their brains working to be ready for that "killer" 1st delivery?

Applies a lot to overnight not-out batsmen.

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