Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
AN out-of-sorts senior national cricket team suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat in the second T20I against Pakistan at Queens Sports Club yesterday.
The Chevrons simply did not show up for yesterday’s catastrophic encounter, as they were an-nihilated by Pakistan, losing a 20-over match with 14.2 overs to spare.
Pakistan now enjoys an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, which concludes to-morrow.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first, only to be bowled out for a meagre 57 runs in 12.4 overs. Pakistan then comfortably chased down the target in just 5.3 overs, finishing on 61/0.
There was yet another dramatic collapse with the bat from Zimbabwe, who, after four overs, were on 37 without loss, only to crumble to 57 all out in 12.4 overs.
It’s hard to believe that Zimbabwe managed to score just 20 more runs for the loss of 10 wick-ets.
The total of 57 all out is now Zimbabwe’s lowest score in T20I history and the second-lowest by a Full Member nation in T20Is, behind only the West Indies’ 45 runs. Zimbabwe’s previous low was 82 runs against Sri Lanka.
This defeat, with 14.3 overs remaining, marks the largest victory margin by balls remaining be-tween two Full Member nations in T20s.
An emotional Sikandar Raza urged his side to keep their emotions in check, as things could get even worse.
“The general feeling is that everybody is in pain, everybody’s hurting, but this is a time when you don’t show emotion. You try and stay calm and find the answers, because the moment you let emotions take control, you end up breaking a lot more things.
“It’s painful, it hurts, but I think it’s more important to stay calm. It hurts for the seniors and the management, but we need to find a solution and keep backing the boys, rather than losing our logic.
“It’s painful that we’ve made a record we shouldn’t have, but how do you react to it and move forward? For me, that’s the most important thing now,” said Raza.
The Chevrons’ T20 captain added:
“This has happened now, so me and the management must look after the boys and ensure that this loss doesn’t affect our performance in the next game. We could easily still be hurting, but we need to focus. If we don’t put this game behind us, it will only lead to another poor perfor-mance. What’s most important now is to make sure my boys are ready for the next game. We know we’ve lost, but if we win the next one, everyone will forget about this performance.”
Zimbabwe’s opening pair of Tadiwanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett were the only players to put up any significant resistance. Bennett top-scored for the hosts with 21 runs off 14 balls, while Marumani contributed 16 runs from 14 deliveries. They were the only batters to reach double figures.
Zimbabwean batters had no answer to Sufiyan Muqeem, who delivered a stunning perfor-mance, finishing with figures of 5/3 in 2.3 overs. Muqeem’s spell is now the best bowling per-formance by a Pakistani spinner in T20Is. He also set a record for the fewest runs conceded for a men’s fifer in T20Is, equalling the 5/3 figures of Rangana Herath (against New Zealand in 2014) and Rashid Khan (against Ireland in 2017).
Abbas Afridi claimed 2/2 in two overs, while Abrah Ahmed, Haris Rauf, and Salman Agha each took one wicket.
Pakistan’s chase was a straightforward affair, and their opening pair of Omair Yousuf and Saim Ayub knew exactly what needed to be done.
The duo eased through the chase, with Ayub scoring 36 runs off 18 balls, while Yousuf made 22 runs from 15 deliveries.
Zimbabwe will be hoping to salvage some pride in the final game of the series, scheduled for tomorrow at the same venue.
The match is set to start at 1:30 pm.
leeroy mupariri
daniel chigunwe
