Bulawayo, November 24, 2024- Zimbabwe secured an 80-run victory over Pakistan in the first One Day International (ODI), with the match being decided under the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method due to rain interruptions.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first. Zimbabwe’s team posted a total of 205 runs in 40.2 overs before being bowled out.
In Blantyre, Zimbabwe’s openers provided a strong start, but the partnership was short-lived, and the first wicket fell at 40 runs after 5.5 overs. Joylord Gumbie was run out for 15 runs. Pakistan’s Salman Agha claimed Zimbabwe’s second wicket at 58 runs, and Haris Rauf dismissed the third wicket at 67 runs.
The hosts continued to lose wickets, with Salman Agha claiming the fourth and fifth wickets at 83 and 99 runs, respectively. The sixth wicket fell at 124 runs when Aamir Jamal took a wicket, and the seventh wicket fell at 125 runs with Faisal Akram’s contribution.
Zimbabwe’s middle-order batsmen showed resistance, building partnerships that pushed the total to 187 runs before Faisal Akram took two more wickets to dismiss them at the same score. Zimbabwe’s final wicket fell to Mohammad Hasnain. Richard Ngarava was the top scorer for the hosts with 48 runs.
In response, Pakistan’s chase of the modest target quickly became a daunting task. The batting line-up crumbled against Zimbabwe’s bowlers, with six Pakistan batsmen dismissed for just 58 runs. By the time rain halted play, Pakistan had scored 60 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.
Kamran Ghulam made 17 runs, Saime Ayub scored 11, Irfan Khan contributed 7, Salman Ali Agha made 4, Abdullah Shafiq managed 1, and Haseebullah was dismissed for a duck. Captain Mohammad Rizwan made 17, while Aamir Jamal remained not out on zero.
The match was abandoned due to rain, and Zimbabwe was declared the winner by 80 runs under the DLS method.
Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza, and Sean Williams all took two wickets each in the match.
