shloboe boe
Brandon Moyo, brandonmalvin9@gmail.com
THE adjectives shambolic, abysmal and embarrassing do not even begin to describe Zimbabwe’s performance in yesterday’s T20I against Pakistan at Queens Sports Club.
The Chevrons displayed a woeful performance in the second T20I and were simply non-existent in their catastrophic 10-wicket defeat.
Pakistan now has an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, with the final game taking place tomorrow.
Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat first, but their efforts resulted in a paltry score of 57 runs in 12.4 overs, with Pakistan easily chasing the target in 5.3 overs and scoring an unbeaten 61.
The Chevrons experienced yet another disastrous collapse with the bat, faltering from a strong position of 37 without loss to a pitiful score of 57 all out.
This represents Zimbabwe’s lowest score in T20I history and the second-lowest by a Full Member nation in T20Is, second only to the West Indies’ 45 runs. Zimbabwe’s previous low was 82 runs against Sri Lanka.
The defeat, with 14.3 overs left, marks the largest victory margin by balls remaining between two Full Member nations in T20s.
An emotional Chevrons’ T20 skipper Sikandar Raza urged his team to keep their emotions in check, warning that matters 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,” said Raza.
“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.
“This has happened now, so it’s crucial for me and the management to look after the boys and ensure that this loss doesn’t affect our performance in the next game. We could still be hurting, but we need to focus. If we don’t put this game behind us, it will only lead to another poor performance. 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.
The batters had no answer to Pakistan bowler Sufiyan Muqeem, who delivered a stunning performance, finishing with figures of 5/3 in 2.3 overs.
Muqeem’s spell is now the best bowling performance 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 tomorrow at the same venue. The match is set to start at 1.30pm. — @brandon_malvin
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