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Zimbabwe stunned Pakistan in the ODI series opener with a thumping 80-run victory via the DLS method on Sunday at the Queens Sports Club.
Pakistan, who recently won their first ODI series in 22 years in Australia, unprecedently fell flat against Zimbabwe. The momentum which Pakistan gained against Australia in the 50-over format was dampened in Zimbabwe on a fairly placid surface. The visitors put Zimbabwe to bat after winning the toss, and the hosts managed to get off to a decent start. Joylord Gumbie and Tadiwanashe Marumani stitched up a 40-run stand, but Agha Salman came in to steal away the momentum. After Gumbie (15) was caught short and ran out by Abdullah Shafique, Agha Salman picked three in quick succession, reducing Zimbabwe to 83/4. Sean Williams (23), Sikandar Raza (39) and Brian Bennett (20) chipped in with valuable contributions before Richard Ngarava came in to play a late 48-run cameo, propelling Zimbabwe's score to 205. In reply, Pakistan tottered early, with openers Saim Ayub (11) and Shafique (1) perishing in the first five overs to Blessing Muzaraban. Williams increased Pakistan's woes after Kamran Ghulam (17) went for a cut but edged it to Marumani. Skipper Mohammad Rizwan tried to raise spirits with Agha Salman on the other end. Zimbabwe threw its experienced spinner Raza into the mix, who instantly cashed in. With a full-length delivery, he struck Salman's front pad and then cleaned up debutant Haseebullah Khan to reduce Pakistan to 49/5. Rizwan stood at the other end as Irfan Khan was castled by Williams to leave Pakistan tattering at 58/6. Pakistan looked down and out on 60/6, and then rain kicked in to hasten the result. The game couldn't proceed any longer, and Zimbabwe were deemed victorious by 80 runs via the DLS method. (ANI)
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