Twitter Reactions: Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi put Pakistan in command against Zimbabwe

For the hosts, debutant Roy Kaia impressed with a 94-ball 48.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Shaheen Afridi
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Shaheen Afridi. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The first day of the opening Test at the Harare Sports Club belonged to Pakistan without a doubt. At the close of play on Thursday, the visitors are trailing by 78 runs with all their 10 wickets remaining after bowling the opposition out for 176 in 59.1 overs. The game was a witness to four debutants- Milton Shumba, Richard Ngarava and Roy Kaia from Zimbabwe and Sajid Khan from Pakistan.

Hasan, Shaheen make hay

On a decent batting strip, the hosts strained to get much momentum. Brendan Taylor and Co lost wickets at regular intervals. Hasan Ali struck first blood, removing Kevin Kasuza for a duck. Taylor couldn’t make an impact either, getting out in the single digits. Shumba and Kaia tried to restore sanity with a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket, but a run-out brought an end to their partnership.

Kaia turned out to be the standout batter for his team, scoring 48 runs with seven fours. Hasan trapped him plumb in front to cut short his knock at the stroke of a half-century. Donald Tiripano’s unbeaten 28 helped Zimbabwe mitigate the damage to some extent. For Pakistan, Hasan and Shaheen Shah Afridi picked four wickets each. Left-armer Nauman Ali got rid of Tarisai Musakanda.

Butt, Abid turn the screws for Pakistan

In their first innings, Pakistan weren’t faced with much of a challenge. Imran Butt and Abid Ali, the openers, carried on the good work from the visitors’ bowlers. Butt had a couple of poor outings against South Africa at home after he got out cheaply. However, he managed to make amends and stayed unbeaten on 43 off 88 balls. His knock was laced with four fours and he looked accomplished.

His partner, Abid, was the more aggressive in the unbeaten 103-run stand off 30 overs. Abid notched a half-century off 56 balls and he stayed not out on 56 runs off 95 balls with the help of 10 scorching fours. Both batters would now be looking to brush off the trail and help Pakistan to a significant lead. As far as Zimbabwe are concerned, they have to pick wickets to make a comeback into the contest.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to the day’s play:

 

 

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