Zimbabwe players celebrate after defeating Pakistan. (Twitter/Zimbabwe Cricket)Pakistan vs Zimbabwe T20 World Cup 2022 Highlights: Zimbabwe shocked Pakistan by one run in a thrilling T20 World Cup 2022 match on Thursday. Opting to bat after winning the toss, Zimbabwe scored 130/8. Shan Masood top-scored with 44 off 38 balls, but Pakistan fell short in the end as they failed to score the three runs required for victory in the last ball of the match.
Sikandar Raza was Zimbabwe’s most successful bowler with 3/25, while Brad Evans picked up two wickets for 25 runs.
Brief scores: Zimbabwe: 130/8 in 20 overs (Sean Williams 31; Shadab Khan 3/23, Mohammad Wasim 4/24).
Pakistan: 129/8 in 20 overs (Shan Masood 44; Sikandar Raza 3/25, Brad Evans picked 2/25).
Follow PAK vs ZIM Highlights from Perth below.
Match EndedICC Men's T20 World Cup, Australia, 2022 - Super 12 - Match 12
Pakistan
129/8 (20.0)vs
Zimbabwe
130/8 (20.0)Match Ended ( Day - Super 12 - Match 12 )
Zimbabwe beat Pakistan by 1 run
Zimbabwe beat Pakistan by 1 run
Live Blog
Pakistan players react following their loss to India in their T20 World Cup cricket match in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
"We didn’t want to end our tournament with qualification. We wanted to come and do well against top sides. After our batting performance, we thought we were 20 runs short. Our fast bowlers hit the strap. Raza came to the party as he always does and picked a few wickets. I think he has taken 3 man of the matches; I am going to be broke by the time I get home (laughs). I would like to thank the Zim supporters."
"Very disappointing batting my team. We were not up to the mark with batting. Unfortunately, we got out in first six overs, and then unfortunately Shadab got out and then the back-to-back wickets and pressure built up. The first six overs we didn’t use the new ball well but later on we made up. 10 runs more to Zimbabwe. We will sit together, discuss mistakes, train hard and come back in the next game. "
"I am lost for words, my mouth's dry probably because of the emotions I am going through at the moment. I can't tell you how proud I'm of this bunch of boys. The way our seamers started at the top, was just unbelievable and the way we backed it up in the field and the way we kept believing, really lost for words. I was reminding the captain he owes me three watches. I was excited today, and I watched this clip by Ricky Ponting earlier in the morning, and that motivated me to come up with this performance. I would like to thank Ricky Ponting for that."
How did Zimbabwe win the last-over thriller against Pakistan? Hard lengths, hard lengths. After getting tonked for a 3 and a four with fuller balls (the second one a slower), Brad Evans adjusted to hit the hard length for three of the final 4 balls The result? Zimbabweans were screaming their heads off and lying on the ground in joy. The fourth was a rasping seamer that beat the bat. Dot ball. The fifth, another hard length, was weakly shovelled to mid-off by Nawaz, and Mohammad Wasim Jr sunk to the ground. He was not on strike, and probably knew the game was up. It was. The final ball was the surprise fuller one but Shaheen could only hit to mid-on. They ran hard, and there was even a fumble by the wicketkeeper Regis Chakabwa, who had already effected the stumping of the tournament with a quick leg-side work to take out Shan Masood, recovered to do the job. Up he hopped. So did the rest of Zimbabweans. Babar Azam sunk his chin into his palms.
How did Zimbabwe win the last-over thriller against Pakistan? Hard lengths, hard lengths. After getting tonked for a 3 and a four with fuller balls (the second one a slower), Brad Evans adjusted to hit the hard length for three of the final 4 balls The result? Zimbabweans were screaming their heads off and lying on the ground in joy. The fourth was a rasping seamer that beat the bat. Dot ball. The fifth, another hard length, was weakly shovelled to mid-off by Nawaz, and Mohammad Wasim Jr sunk to the ground. He was not on strike, and probably knew the game was up. It was. The final ball was the surprise fuller one but Shaheen could only hit to mid-on. They ran hard, and there was even a fumble by the wicketkeeper Regis Chakabwa, who had already effected the stumping of the tournament with a quick leg-side work to take out Shan Masood, recovered to do the job. Up he hopped. So did the rest of Zimbabweans. Babar Azam sunk his chin into his palms.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WHAT A GAME 🤩<br><br>Zimbabwe hold their nerve against Pakistan and clinch a thrilling win by a solitary run!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/T20WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#T20WorldCup</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvZIM?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvZIM</a> | 📝: <a href="https://t.co/6tQg6oiO9G">https://t.co/6tQg6oiO9G</a> <a href="https://t.co/O6tBbSIc2r">pic.twitter.com/O6tBbSIc2r</a></p>— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/T20WorldCup/status/1585642606079643648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
ZIMBABWE WIN BY 1 RUN! WOW! A run-out off the last ball and what a massive result this is!
With 3 needed from 2 balls, Mohammad Nawaz goes for the big hit but is caught by Ervine! Pakistan need 3 runs from 1 ball
Mohammad Wasim Jr picks up the slower one from Brad Evans and gets the much-needed boundary
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Pakistan need 11 runs from the last over.
Its that man Nawaz again! The first time that Richard Ngarava missed his length and the full toss has been dispatched for a huge maximum. 12 needed from 8!
Mohammad Wasim Jr gets the boundary that Pakistan wanted. That was a short one from Muzarabani and a healthy top-edge takes it to the fence. Score after 18 overs, PAK: 109/6 | 22 needed from the last 2 overs
Richard Ngarava [2.0-0-11-0] is brought back into the attack and bowls a brilliant over. No runs from the first three balls, including a close shout. A wide, a leg-bye and a single to end the over. Just three from it. Score after 17 overs, PAK: 102/6 | REQ RR: 9.67 | Pakistan need 29 runs in 18 balls
Shan Masood departs for 44 courtesy of some brilliant glove work behind the stumps by Regis Chakabva. Sikandar Raza has brought his team back in the game picking up 3 wickets in 2 overs. Pakistan looked like they were taking control but have lost quick wickets. Score after 16 overs, PAK: 99/6
Shadab holes out at long-off, doesn’t cross over and Raza stuns Haider for a duck.First, Sikandar Raza, who has remodelled his action with help from the West Indian Sunil Narine, teased out Shadab Khan, who had just hit a six, into another big hit and was pouched at long-off. Next ball, he carrom-flicked a ball that skidded on the middle, to trap the new batsman Haider Ali right in front.
Raza bowls it right in the slot and it is dispatched right over the man at long-on! Shadab Khan brings up the 50-run stand with a thumping loft down the ground that clears the fielder for an 85-metre maximum.
Shan Masood and Shadab Khan have manged to milk 26 runs from the last three overs (after the drinks break). So the pressure has not built up. The scoreboard reads 81/3 and REQ RR is : 7.5
There is a lot of Sunil Narine in the way Sikandar Raza bowls these days. From holding the ball behind him as he jogs up and to the variations he attempts. It’s not a coincidence.
When he removed a malignant tumour after a bone marrow infection couple of years ago (at one stage he had feared it was cancerous), he had to make a hard decision: to quit bowling or change his action.
"I don't think I have any other option. After those two surgeries, I lost a lot of strength in my shoulder. I couldn't really get my hand up and when I did, I felt like there was not a lot of zip on the ball. The ball wasn't coming out at a pace I wanted. Sunil [Narine] has played a huge role. I was at CPL and I was watching him very closely and bugging him, asking him a lot of questions,” Raza had then old ESPNCricinfo.
"Just being an offspinner without any variation is quite hard to survive white-ball cricket. That thought led to the variations and again Sunil has played a huge role as well. I met him at BPL and had a very good chat with him. And now to see some of the variations coming out of the hand really nicely is quite pleasing." - Sreeram Veera
At the halfway mark, Zimbabwe are on top with both BabarAzam and Md Rizwan back in the dugout.
Pitch Will Get better and Shadab and Masood Partnership is key for Pakistan From here on ! Big 2 overs after the drinks can make or break for both the team. Pakistan need 77 runs in 60 balls
Babar Azam was out trying to flick against India. He was trying to on-drive now against Zimbabwe. The right-arm seamer Brad Evan's delivery landed middle and off and straightened a touch. Babar wasn’t looking to go too far across but more of a firm push to wide mid-on perhaps. But that straightening and the fact that he doesn’t really move much after setting up the initial base, trusting his hands to do the work means he was going to get squared-up a touch.
Mohammad Rizwan followed him soon after. Muzarabani got one to jag back in decent pace and Rizwan tried to chop it behind point but ended up chopping on to his stumps. He was pretty angry, and almost started his bat-swing towards the stumps before he restrained himself. And when Iftiqhar Ahmed feathered a catch down the leg side off Jongwe, Pakistan were 36 for 3 in 7.4 overs. - Sreeram Veera
This is getting from bad to worse here for Pakistan. Unlucky dismissal here for Ifthikar Ahmed a ball on the leg side he tickles one to the keeper. Pakistan today is not playing Asif Alif the have gone in with an extra seamer.