Pakistan 281 for 8 (Haris Sohail 71, Imam-ul-Haq 58, Chisoro 2-31, Muzarabani 2-39) vs Zimbabwe
Pakistan haven't played an ODI for 13 months, and the rustiness was evident in Rawalpindi on Friday in their first game against Zimbabwe. After winning the toss and opting to bat, Pakistan stuttered their way to 281 for 8, getting there in the end thanks to some untidiness on the part of the visitors at the death after an exceptionally disciplined bowling performance for the best part.
Half-centuries from Imam-ul-Haq and Haris Sohail kept Pakistan chugging along without ever really moving through the gears. Zimbabwe picked up wickets quietly from time to time, and, all of a sudden, Pakistan found themselves six down for 205, and facing a battle to post a total their bowlers would feel comfortable defending.
They had opted for the more circumspect Abid Ali in place of Fakhar Zaman at the top, and as such, while they made a solid start, there was no evidence of the powerplay aggression that has become the norm for successful ODI sides. It helped Zimbabwe that Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani - back after two years away from the national side - were very disciplined, giving little by way of extras or loose deliveries to either batsman. And when Ali tried to play across the line to Carl Mumba, he was trapped in front.
What would - or should - disappoint Pakistan is their overall approach. For all the talk of this series being the beginning of the next four-year ODI cycle, there are few signs that with it has come a change in their philosophical approach to the format, and the lack of intent in the first ten overs was followed by similar wariness through the middle overs. Only Babar Azam tried to up the ante, but crucially for Zimbabwe, he wasn't at the crease for long, a poke at an outswinger from Muzarabani bringing about his downfall.
Thereon, Zimbabwe were on top as Pakistan went into a shell that they really should have stayed away from for much of the innings. Imam and Sohail began a rebuild that ended in a mix of farce and comedy when they found themselves at the same end, both diving to get ahead of the other and survive at the keeper's end while Sikandar Raza whipped off the bails at the other. Imam was the unlucky one, allowing Sohail to anchor the innings as Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan came and went.
Despite all that, Pakistan ended with a decent total, and Zimbabwe may regret letting that happen, and it may yet prove enough to give Pakistan a series lead. Once Raza - whose overs through the middle were essential to Zimbabwe gaining control - got Sohail to edge through to the keeper for 71, Pakistan were six down and barely past 200. At that stage, bowling them out was a keen possibility, but Imad Wasim and Faheem Ashraf, before the briefest loss of discipline at the death, ensured a sharp uptick in runs that seemed to ward off any Zimbabwean ideas of aggression, sending them into run-preservation mode. In the end, Pakistan managed a satisfactory 89 off the last ten, and went in at lunch with momentum on their side.