Pakistan defeated hosts Zimbabwe by 6 wickets in the first T20 match.
In pursuit of the target of 157 runs in the match played in Rawalpindi, Pakistan had to bear the first loss with a total score of 36 and Fakhr Zaman was caught after playing an innings of 19 runs.
After that Haider Ali came to the crease to support Babar Azam but he also failed to play long innings and returned to the pavilion after scoring 7 runs.
Muhammad Hafeez formed a strong partnership with Babar Azam and during this time the captain also completed his half century.
Babar Azam was dismissed for 82 off 55 balls while Mohammad Hafeez played an excellent innings of 36 off 32 balls after which his innings also came to an end.
Khushdal Shah scored the last run in the 19th over to lead the team to victory and Pakistan scored 157 runs for the loss of 4 wickets to win the match by 6 wickets.
Zimbabwe’s Blessing Mazarbani took two wickets while Tendai Chitara and Richard Nirawa took one wicket each.
Babar Azam was declared the best player of the match for his excellent batting.
15th T20I fifty for Captain @babarazam258!
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WATCH #PAKvZIM ➡ https://t.co/TFQynkDyzy#HarHaalMainCricket pic.twitter.com/ws7LLUw6pD— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 7, 2020
Earlier in the first T20 match of the series, Zimbabwe captain Chamo Chibaba won the toss and elected to bat first.
Mohammad Hasnain continued his excellent performance by dismissing Zimbabwean captain Chamo Chibaba in the first over to give Pakistan its first victory.
Brendon Taylor and Sean Williams had just reached 34 when Harris Rauf forced the wicketkeeper-batsman to return to the pavilion with the help of Haider Ali.
First one gone!
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WATCH #PAKvZIM ➡ https://t.co/AtoiXLnmDN#HarHaalMainCricket pic.twitter.com/j9uVCNbgIq— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 7, 2020
Shaun Williams played a 25-run resistance innings off 24 balls but Usman Qadir ended his innings in his first over on the debut while Sikandar Raza could score only 7 runs.
Ryan Burt and Wesley Medvedev combined to take the score to 122, but Harris Rauf scattered Burt’s wickets to give Pakistan their fifth victory.
Medveira played an unbeaten 70-run innings with the help of a six and nine fours, thanks to which the Zimbabwean team managed to get a decent total.
Usman Qadir is making his T20I debut today!
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WATCH #PAKvZIM ➡ https://t.co/TFQynkDyzy#HarHaalMainCricket pic.twitter.com/sBvtR7QXjZ— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 7, 2020
Zimbabwe scored 156 for 6 in the allotted overs.
For Pakistan, Haris Rauf and Wahab Riaz took two wickets each while Hasnain and Usman Qadir took one wicket each.
Pakistan made the debut of Usman Qadir, the son of former great league spinner in today’s match.
Zimbabwe to bat first!
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WATCH #PAKvZIM ➡ https://t.co/AtoiXLnmDN#HarHaalMainCricket https://t.co/NlOI2OQjTy pic.twitter.com/W4cCDqz9I5— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 7, 2020
The Pakistani team for the match consisted of these players.
Babar Azam (captain), Fakhr Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdal Shah, Fahim Ashraf, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf.