International cricket returned to Pakistan after a period of 6 years, with Pakistan winning the 1st T20I with ease against a spirited Zimbabwe side.

By PakPassion Staff (22nd May, 2015)

Result: Pakistan won by 5 wickets (with 3 balls remaining) - Zimbabwe 172/6 (20/20 ov), Pakistan 173/5 (19.3/20 ov)

Toss : Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first.

Teams: 

Zimbabwe : V Sibanda, H Masakadza, Sikandar Raza, CK Coventry, SC Williams, R Mutumbami†, E Chigumbura*, T Panyangara, AG Cremer, CB Mpofu, BV Vitori

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi*, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed†, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Mohammad Sami, Mukhtar Ahmed, Wahab Riaz

What an occasion! A full stadium and a crowd full of ehthusiasm. International cricket came back to Pakistan on 22nd May, 2015.

Pakistan chose to bring in Shoaib Malik and and Mohammad Sami for this landmark game. Misbah-ul-Haq in the commentary box suggested that 170+ would be the score to aim for and the Zimbabwe batsmen seem to hear him as they started off in a canter. The openers Sibanda and Masakadza seem to be thrashing Pakistan bowlers to all over the park before Sami stopped the rot with 2 wickets to reduce the visitors to 58/2. The Zimbabwe innings had a little hiccup at that point with the loss of Coventry but they reached the halfway mark with 83/3 on the board. Whilst Pakistan would be happy with seeing international cricketers on Pakistani soil, the sight of Sarfraz Ahmed missing simple stumping chances was a nightmare for the captain and coach, as were the many fielding lapses. Zimbabwe finished off their innings at a more than a reasonable total of 172/6, with Elton Chigumbura (54) leading the charge against a completely disjointed Pakistan bowling attack towards the end of their innings. For Pakistan not that many happy memories of this innings except for Mohammad Sami, who finished with an admirable 3 wickets in his 4 overs.

This was a tough task for Pakistan, especially given their recent dismal record in this format but today was a different day. It appeared that opener Mukhtar Ahmed wanted to reward the Pakistani public for their 6 years of patience as he and Ahmed Shehzad raced to 100 runs in just 9.2 overs (56 balls). There was absolutley no stopping both of these batsmen, with Mukhtar (83) in specific looking like a man on a mission. Every stroke was a masterpiece with Ahmed Shehzad (55) playing an excellent supporting rule. The opening partnership was broken after 142 runs. Pakistan then had a mini collapse of sorts but they were never in any real danger of losing this game. The game finished in the final over, and some drama, with Shahid Afridi and Sarfraz Ahmed at the crease to the delight of the capacity crowd.

A great day of cricket for Pakistan in many ways culminated with a resounding victory for the homeside. The Gaddafi Stadium pitch was always going to be tough for the bowlers and so it proved. For Pakistan the emergence of Mukhtar Ahmed as a viable opening option is great news and the selectors must also be pleased with their choice of Mohammad Sami. Pakistan will now go in to the final T20I of the series with great confidence whilst Zimbabwe will be looking for answers to tame the Pakistani batting lineup.

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