ZIM Tri-Series, 2018: Match 1, Zimbabwe v Pakistan – Statistical Highlights

Pakistan defeated the hosts Zimbabwe by a big margin in the first game of the T20I Triangular series that includes Australia as the 3rd team. The No.1 T20I side continued their winning streak in the shorter format recording a 74-run win with an all-round performance. Pakistan posted 182/4 on the board as Fakhar Zaman scored a 40-ball 61 at the top despite slow progress at the other end.

Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik added 62 runs in just 32 balls towards the end of the innings to push Pakistan past 180-run mark. Zimbabwe fell way short of the target as no one except the debutant Tarisai Musakanda lasted long. They were bowled out for 108 in the 18th over as the injured Kyle Jarvis did not bat.

Stats and numbers from the opening game of the T20I Triangular series in Zimbabwe:

8 – The 74-run win is Pakistan’s 8th consecutive T20I win; their longest winning streak in this format. Their previous longest winning streak in T20I cricket was of seven matches during 2009.

Only Afghanistan (11 T20Is in 2016-2017) has won more T20I matches in a succession than Pakistan. The likes of England (2010-2011) and Ireland (2012) have also won eight T20Is in a row.

10 – Pakistan won all the 10 matches in the T20I format they played against Zimbabwe. No other team has won as many as 10 T20Is against an opponent with 100% win record. India’s 8 wins in 8 T20Is against Bangladesh is the 2nd best record for any team against an opponent in this format.

20 – Sarfraz Ahmed is now the most successful captain of Pakistan in the T20I format with 20 wins in just 23 matches. He surpassed Shahid Afridi’s tally of 19 wins that came in 43 matches as the captain of Pakistan.

43 – Tarisai Musakanda’s 43 is the highest individual score by a Zimbabwe player on T20I debut. The previous highest T20I score by a debutant for Zimbabwe was 38 by Sean Williams in the 2006 Khulna T20I against Bangladesh which was the first ever T20I game of both the sides.

51 – Number of wickets Mohammad Hafeez has bagged in his T20I career. He is only the 5th player with the double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets in T20I cricket after Shahid Afridi, Dwayne Bravo, Shakib Al Hasan and Thisara Perera.

108/10 – Zimbabwe’s total of 108 in this game is their 2nd lowest total in a home T20I. They made 99/9 after batting out their 20 overs against India in the 2016 Harare T20I while batting first.

2026 – Shoaib Malik completed 2000 runs in the T20I format when he reached his individual score of 14 in this game. He is the first player from Pakistan and only the 3rd player overall to score 2000 T20I runs. New Zealand players Martin Guptill (2271) and Brendon McCullum (2140) are the only players to score more T20I runs than Malik.

5001 – Mohammad Hafeez completed 5000 runs in the Twenty20 format with the six he hit on the 2nd of the game. He is the 5th Pakistan player after Shoaib Malik, Ahmed Shehzad and the Akmal brothers (Kamran and Umar) to complete 5000 T20 runs.