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Zimbabwe conjure up a miracle as Pakistan lose another thriller
Pakistan are in fifth spot in Group 2 after losing both their opening games
After their heart-breaking loss to India on the last ball of their tournament opener, things only got more difficult for Pakistan as their T20 World Cup hopes lay in tatters after crashing to a one-run defeat to Zimbabwe in a thrilling game at Perth on Thursday. Having restricted Zimbabwe to a modest 130 for eight, Babar Azam’s side floundered in their chase finishing on 129 for eight.
Sikandar Raza was Zimbabwe's unlikely hero, picking up three wickets for 25 runs with his off-spin as the African side registered their first Super 12 win.
In their chase, Pakistan were off to a tough start against the pacers but their batters were expected to have no problem against the spinners. But instead, it was spin that became their undoing on the day.
Coasting at 88 for three after 13.3 overs, the batters committed hara-kiri against Zimbabwe’s part-time off-spinner to crash to 94 for six in 15.1 overs as Raza claimed three wickets in four balls. Shadab Khan and Haider Ali fell off successive balls and on the first ball of his next over, he had the well-set Shan Masood stumped down the leg-side. Masood (44 off 38 balls) and Shadab (17 off 14 balls) had a 52-run partnership to help Pakistan recover from 36 for three. Their quick dismissals derailed the chase.
To have a chance of qualifying for the semifinals, Pakistan now need to win all their remaining three Group 2 games, against South Africa, Bangladesh and Netherlands and hope other results go their way too. The top two teams from both groups qualify for the last four.
Pakistan are in fifth spot in Group 2 after losing both their opening games. After the win, Zimbabwe are in third spot with three points, same as second-placed South Africa. Luck has been on Zimbabwe's side after their opening game was washed out with South Africa just a couple of blows away from victory, giving them a point.
Playing his first game of the tournament, Brad Evans was the other star performer for Zimbabwe. He chipped in with a couple of crucial hits with the bat to score 19 off 15 balls at No 9 to help Zimbabwe recover from 95 for seven after 14.4 overs to 126 for eight. A total of 130 for eight meant they had something to fight with. He was entrusted with the responsibility to defend 10 runs in the final over with Pakistan having four wickets in hand.
T20 World Cup: Pakistan's semifinal hopes take huge blow after shock loss to Zimbabwe; check Group 2 full points table
The pressure was on pacer Evans after Mohammad Nawaz and Mahammad Wasim hit seven runs off the first two balls. It reduced the equation to a gettable four off four balls. But Evans bowled three nerveless deliveries in which he conceded just one run and picked a wicket. Nawaz swung and missed the 4th ball and then got caught trying to clear the infield next ball. It left Shaheen Afridi three runs to get off the last ball.
With two needed to tie the match, Afridi drove the ball to long-on as Evans bowled full on the fifth stump. The fielder, Raza, did well to charge in and put the Pakistan pair under pressure for the second run. Wicket-keeper Regis Chakabva fumbled while collecting the one-bounce throw but did well to recover and take the bails off to beat Afridi’s desperate dive to trigger wild celebrations among the Zimbabweans.
Left to rue his team’s poor show, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said: "(It was a) Very disappointing performance in my team. We were not up to the mark in the batting. We had a bad first six overs, but Shadab and Shan built a partnership but unfortunately Shadab out and then back-to back wickets and pressure built on the batting. We'll sit together and learn from our mistakes and come back hard next match."
Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine called it a special effort from his players. “Especially for the work that we did to get into the Super 12s and we didn't want our tournament to end there. We wanted to come in and play some really good cricket against some top teams and I thought we did that exceptionally well today,” said Erwine.
