Pakistan vs. Zimbabwe, 1st ODI, 2015: Highlights, Scorecard and Recap
Pakistan (375-3) easily beat Zimbabwe (334-5) by 41 runs on Tuesday to win the first ODI played in the country in years thanks to an incredible batting display in the first innings and the fine work from bowler Wahab Riaz.
The hosts cruised to a total of 375 on a very flat pitch before Riaz bowled 10 key overs, taking a number of important wickets and keeping the lead safe.
As shared by journalist Mehr Tarar, Zimbabwe became the first team since 2009 to travel to Pakistan and play an ODI series:
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The hosts won the toss and decided to bat first, and what followed was a masterclass of efficiency. As Geo English put it, Pakistan couldn't have done much better with the bat:
Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali paired for an incredible opening stand that lasted until the latter was finally caught after facing 76 deliveries. By that time, the partnership had already yielded well over 100 runs, as Hafeez scored 86 from 83, and Ali went 79 from 76.
| Mohammad Hafeez | b Utseya | 86 | 126 | 83 | 8 | 4 | |
| Azhar Ali | c Panyangara | b Utseya | 79 | 117 | 76 | 9 | 2 |
| Shoaib Malik | c H Masakadza | b Panyangara | 112 | 125 | 76 | 12 | 2 |
| Haris Sohail | not out | 89 | 117 | 66 | 6 | 2 | |
| Extras | 1nb 3w 4b 1lb | 9 | |||||
| Total | 375 | ||||||
| Tinashe Panyangara | 10.0 | 0 | 75 | 1 | 7.50 | ||
| Brian Vitori | 10.0 | 1 | 77 | 0 | 7.70 | ||
| Chris Mpofu | 10.0 | 0 | 70 | 0 | 7.00 | ||
| Sean Williams | 5.0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 8.40 | ||
| Prosper Utseya | 10.0 | 0 | 63 | 2 | 6.30 | ||
| Sikandar Raza | 5.0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 8.60 |
The attacking onslaught didn't end there. Shoaib Malik celebrated the return of international cricket to Pakistan with a ton, scoring 112 from 76 before being dismissed on the last ball. Haris Sohail completed the fantastic performance with 89 from 66.
When it was all said and done, Pakistan had broken their record for highest ODI score on home soil, per ESPNcricinfo:
Zimbabwe were shocking with the ball, and of all the team's bowlers, Prosper Utseya put in the best performance, taking two wickets and giving up 63 runs in 10 overs.
Tinashe Panyangara's struggles hurt in particular, as the veteran gave up 12 boundaries in 10 overs.
Things looked dire for Zimbabwe, but to their credit, the visitors put up a fantastic fight. Their chase was aided by a monstrous effort from captain Elton Chigumbura, who scored his first-ever ODI ton. Cricketwallah was impressed:
Chigumbura managed 117 from 95 and had a productive stand with Hamilton Masakadza, who added 73 from 73. The two pushed Zimbabwe's run rate to nearly seven after a slow start from the openers.
| Vusi Sibanda | c and b Riaz | 23 | 60 | 36 | 3 | 0 | |
| Sikandar Raza | c Hafeez | b Anwar Ali | 36 | 47 | 31 | 4 | 1 |
| Hamilton Masakadza | c Azam | b Shoaib Malik | 73 | 89 | 73 | 4 | 2 |
| Elton Chigumbura | b Riaz | 117 | 136 | 95 | 10 | 4 | |
| Sean Williams | c Sarfraz Ahmed | b Riaz | 36 | 28 | 28 | 5 | 0 |
| Richmond Mutumbami | not out | 21 | 39 | 19 | 3 | 0 | |
| Prosper Utseya | not out | 21 | 26 | 18 | 3 | 0 | |
| Extras | 0nb 5w 0b 2lb | 7 | |||||
| Total | 334 | ||||||
| Mohammad Sami | 7.0 | 0 | 63 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Anwar Ali | 10.0 | 0 | 81 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Wahab Riaz | 10.0 | 0 | 47 | 3 | 3 | ||
| Hammad Azam | 5.0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Yasir Shah | 6.0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Mohammad Hafeez | 8.0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Shoaib Malik | 4.0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 1 |
The flat pitch clearly favoured the batsmen, as Pakistan's bowlers had similar struggles as their colleagues from Zimbabwe. Riaz made the difference, however, producing several strong overs and taking key wickets, including Chigumbura's with a beautiful yorker.
Riaz ended with three wickets and gave up just 47 runs, by far the best numbers among Pakistan's bowlers.
Zimbabwe cricket chairman Wilson Manase spoke to reporters before the match, and as he told ESPNcricinfo (h/t the Guardian), he was keen to let the world know he and his players feel very safe in Pakistan:
"I would like to indicate to the world – especially the Test-playing nations – that Pakistan is a safe country to play cricket. We need to encourage members of the ICC to re-look at the position of not visiting Pakistan, and if they are watching how things have gone, they would realise that Pakistan, in the quest to have teams visit, have done great work to create an environment where cricket can be played safely.
"
Chigumbura told ESPNcricinfo he was happy with how his team performed, saying: "I thought we played well. Just unfortunate that in the last seven overs, we didn't go out and get the score. Delighted with my innings and hopefully I can get more in the next games to come."
Two more ODIs will be played in Lahore, and given the flat state of the pitch, Pakistan will be heavily favoured in both matches thanks to their bowling.
Far more important than the results is the fact teams are once again playing ODI cricket in Pakistan, and the fans and the sport are the real winners of this development. Credit Zimbabwe for taking the step to visit Pakistan and the players from both sides for entertaining fans with such a high-scoring affair.
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