Blawayo, December 5, 2024–In a thrilling contest, Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan by 2 wickets in the third T20 match. Despite the loss, Pakistan emerged victorious in the series 2-1. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first, on a challenging pitch and against Zimbabwe’s excellent bowling, Pakistan managed to score 132 runs for 7 wickets in their 20 overs.
Salman Agha top-scored with 32 runs, followed by Tayyab Tahir with 21, Qasim Akram with 20, and Abbas Afridi with 15. Usman Khan scored 5, Sahibzada Farhan 4, and Umair Yusuf was dismissed for a duck. Irfan Munir remained not out with 22, and Jehanzad Khan also stayed not out with 6 runs.
Zimbabwe successfully chased the target of 134 runs in the final over, losing 8 wickets. The match slipped away from Pakistan’s hands in the final moments, as the tailenders scored 12 runs in the last over.
Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett played a match-winning innings of 43 runs. Sikandar Raza contributed 19, Tadiwanashe Marumani made 15, and Dion Myers added 13 runs. In the final moments, Tinotenda Maposa scored 12 runs, leading Zimbabwe to victory.
For Pakistan, Abbas Afridi claimed 3 wickets, Jehanzad Khan took 2, and Salman Ali Agha and Sufyan Maqeem took 1 wicket each.
It is notable that Pakistan had comfortably won the first and second matches of the series, and they also won the ODI series 2-1.
