Zimbabwe stunned Pakistan in their thrilling T20 World Cup encounter on Thursday (October 27). Craig Ervine-led Zimbabwe produced a spirited performance against the highly-vaunted Pakistani side to register an improbable victory by one run.
After pulling off the spectacular victory, Zimbabwe players broke into euphoric celebrations. While Craig Ervine and Co were jubilant, Pakistan’s dressing room was in disbelief after suffering a humiliating loss against an unfancied Zimbabwe side.
Video clips of devastated Pakistani players have gone viral on social media. In one such clip, a shocked Babar Azam can be seen. The Pakistani skipper, with hands on his face, wore a dejected look.
— Guess Karo (@KuchNahiUkhada) October 27, 2022
Batting first, Zimbabwe started off well before slipping to 95 for 7. Brad Evans’ 19 off 15 balls took Zimbabwe to a respectable total of 130.
Encouraged by a green-tinged Optus Stadium pitch, skipper Babar Azam had opted to field a bowling heavy line-up. Pakistan strengthened their pace attack with the inclusion of pacer Mohammad Wasim at the expense of batter Asif Ali. Babar’s decision seemed like a masterstroke as Wasim took four wickets. However, this decision would come back to haunt Pakistan as 131 proved to be a tricky target on a pitch with steep bounce and a big outfield.
Zimbabwe’s Brad Evans and Blessing Muzarabani dismissed both the Pakistani openers in the first five overs itself. Then Luke Jongwe removed Iftikhar Ahmed to leave Pakistan reeling at the score of 36 for 3.
Shan Masood and Shadab Khan steadied the ship with a 52-run fourth-wicket stand. However, the prolific Sikandar Raza led Zimbabwe back into the match by taking three wickets in quick succession. Pakistan never really recovered from Shadab Khan and Haider Ali’s back-to-back dismissals and it was Zimbabwe who showed nerves of steel and caused an upset for the ages.
This stunning defeat has left Pakistan on the brink of being knocked out of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan now has to win all their remaining three matches and hope that other results go their way too.
After the defeat, Babar was confident that his team could still pull it off and progress to the semi-finals. “We have two days and we’ll have a sit together and discuss the mistakes. We will come back stronger,” Babar was quoted as saying at his post-match press conference.
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