Zimbabwe vs Pakistan: 5th ODI- Who Said What

The visiting team didn't have to drop any sweat whatsoever in order to roll their opponents over.

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Imam ul Haq
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Imam ul Haq celebrates his hundred. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The fifth and final ODI between Zimbabwe and Pakistan turned out to be another one-sided encounter. The visiting team didn’t look in any sort of trouble whatsoever and completed a resounding whitewash by turning over Hamilton Masakadza and Co by 131 runs in the last match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Moreover, they also accomplished their seventh 5-0 victory in the 50-overs format.

Imam and Babar’s ton lift Pakistan

Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to bat first. Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq opened the batting and stormed to a stand of 168 runs from 150 balls. The partnership was broken by 18-year-old Liam Roche with the wicket of Fakhar for 85 runs. Imam went on to notch his fourth century in just his ninth match. Left-arm tweaker Wellington Masakadza nipped him out in the 38th over.

Babar Azam also played brilliantly and scored 106 runs from 76 balls. He buckled out to lay a platform for a blistering finish. He accomplished his half-century in 55 deliveries and then accelerated towards the end. In his last 17 balls, the right-hander raced away to his eighth ton in the format. Riding on another stupendous show by the top-order the Men in Green put 364 runs in 50 overs.

Sarfraz’s men complete annihilation

The run-chase was expected to be stiff for the Zimbabwean batting lineup, which had strained to find their feet in their previous four matches. Hamilton Masakadza and Tinashe Kamunhukamwe stitched together a partnership of 66 runs from 84 balls to get their team off to a steady start. Meanwhile, the required rate climbed with every passing over and the pressure mounted on them.

Kamunhukamwe was the first wicket to fall as Mohammad Nawaz accounted for his wicket. The captain perished in the very next over to fast-bowler Hasan Ali. Prince Masvaure and Ryan Murray put together 78 runs to disallow the Pakistani bowlers from running through their batting lineup. In the end, the hosts could only score 233 runs, however, lost only four wickets.

Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe’s captain, said

Slightly better with the bat. We weren’t three down for 34. Got starts all the way down, but no one pushed on. Wanted to try and aim for 250-270. Few of the guys have been introduced to international cricket. We’ve been shown how big a gap there is.

Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan’s captain, said

Great team effort. Wanted to finish on high note. Fakhar Zaman, Imam, Babar did the job for us. We are happy to try some combinations, players responded well. Need one month rest. Will go home, then will proceed to training, tough tours lined up.

Fakhar Zaman, Player of the Series, said

Really enjoyed it here. In 2016, I was with Pakistan A over here and enjoyed it a lot. I was taking my time at the start, was punishing bad deliveries, that was the main thing for me. I will work hard and hopefully, you’ll see me scoring more runs for my country.

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