Zimbabwe’s inexperience has so far showed against Pakistan, a session and a half of madness cost them the one off Test and in the first ODI, the chase was on till the end only for the visitors to take the match in the last over. Though, there were a few bright performances in the first match but Zimbabwe need to get the act together as a team to keep the three match series alive.
Skipper Brendon Taylor and opener Vusi Sibanda batted well to get half centuries but the side didn’t have enough fire power down the order to pull off what would have been a last over victory. They would need to iron out the kinks in their batting especially against Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez who have constantly troubled them. During the middle overs, Zimbabwe’s failure to keep the score board moving has hampered them since long.
However, their bowlers haven’t done too badly in the limited overs format this season. First against Bangladesh and now in the first ODI against Pakistan, they have managed to restrict the opposition to affordable totals. Given the experience that Pakistan pack in their middle-order, the spin battery led by Ray Price will once again need to keep the scoring in check if they are to have any chance of preventing a series defeat.
For Pakistan, the experiment of infusing fresh blood into the side has worked very well thus far. Aizaz Cheema has impressed on the tour, another rookie Junaid Khan bowled a superb last over in a tense finish proving that the team has still depth among its ranks. However, the batting still revolves around the experienced duo of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. The former looked good in the last match till the ill-judged run cost him a possible century.
All said and done, Pakistan are favorites to pocket the series which would be a fitting farewell gift to Coach Waqar Younis. Though, there are few players who would want to prove a point, both Shoaib Malik and Imran Farhat made a comeback to the team after a long break but failed with the bat at Bulawayo. They would definitely want to score some runs to stake claim for a spot in the side for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and they wouldn’t get a better chance.
Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (c), Brian Vitori, Chamu Chibhabha, Christopher Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Greg Lamb, Hamilton Masakadza, Kyle Jarvis, Malcolm Waller, Prosper Utseya, Ray Price, Regis Chakabva, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Vusimuzi Sibanda
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (C), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Rameez Raja, Adnan Akmal (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Shoaib Malik.
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