Opting to bat first, Zimbabwe got to a horrendous start losing Wesley Madhevere to pacer Paul van Meekeren in the second over. Madhevere played all over the line of the ball and saw his stumps rattled. He was dismissed for 1(5).
Pakistan's over-reliance on their opening batting pair came back to haunt them as Zimbabwe pipped them in a low-scoring thriller by one run to clinch their first Super-12 win of the ongoing T20 World Cup on Thursday at the Perth Stadium.
The President took to Twitter to share the message and wrote, "What a win for Zimbabwe! Congratulations to the Chevrons. Next time, send the real Mr Bean...#PakvsZim
Speaking after the match in a post-match conference, the 'Player of the Match' was emotional and could not find words to express his excitement and happiness. He said that he was really proud of his teammates.
He heaped praises on the team's bowlers who pulled back things to ensure a victory for Zimbabwe and also acknowledged the key contribution from star all-rounder Sikandar Raza in the victory.
The opener rued the batting collapse and said that the Shadab Khan and Shan Masood partnership was important for them. After that partnership, wickets fell regularly creating pressure on the team.
Pakistan made a mess of a paltry chase as they suffered a batting collapse and left their bowlers to chase and win the match for them. All-rounder Sikandar Raza took three wickets in a short span to dismantle the chase.
Pakistan's decision to play an extra pacer in Mohammad Wasim Jr worked wonders for the team as the youngster ended with his best T20I bowling figures (4/24) to restrict Zimbabwe to a below-par total. Sean Williams and Brad Evans helped the team cross the 100-run mark.
The explosive batter scored 51* off just 25 balls to help India post 179/2 in its 20 overs. In the process, Suryakumar took over Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan who was at the top of the scoring charts with 825 runs from 19 innings with a superb average of 51.56 in 2022.
Opting to bat first, the Zimbabwe team walked out for the national anthem but the rain gods opened the gates of heaven to pour rain. The match was then reduced to nine over a side game due to the rain delay.