Pakistan spinner Mohammad Nawaz in action during match against Zimbabwe in opening match of the T20I tri-series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, November 18, 2025. — Facebook/PakistanCricketBoard
RAWALPINDI: Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza led from the front with an unbeaten 34 off 21 balls to lift his side to 147 for 8 against Pakistan in the opening match of the T20I tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Put into bat first, the Chevrons could accumulate 147/8 in their allotted 20 overs despite a promising start.
Zimbabwe openers Tadiwanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett dominated the Pakistan bowling attack for the first seven overs.
Mohammad Nawaz eventually broke the threatening partnership on the final delivery of the eighth over as he got Marumani caught at deep square leg. The left-handed batter scored 30 off 22 deliveries with the help of two fours and a six.
Bennett was then joined by experienced Brendan Taylor (14) for a brief 19-run partnership for the second wicket, which culminated in the 11th over, with the latter getting run out by Babar Azam.
The opener followed suit an over later, copping up a soft dismissal as he got caught and bowled by Saim Ayub. He remained the top scorer with a 36-ball 49, comprising eight fours.
His dismissal sparked a match-defining collapse, which saw Zimbabwe lose five more wickets at an alarming rate, but their skipper Sikandar Raza stood firm and played a handy knock under pressure.
The all-rounder smashed three fours and a six on his way to an unbeaten 34 off 24 deliveries.
Nawaz was the standout bowler for Pakistan, taking two wickets for just 22 runs in his four overs, while Abrar Ahmed, Saim, Salman Mirza and Shaheen Shah Afridi chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Earlier, Pakistan opted to bowl first after winning the toss against Zimbabwe.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Salman Agha (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed.
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brad Evans, Sikandar Raza (c), Brendan Taylor (wk), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Tony Munyonga, Graeme Cremer, Tinotenda Maposa and Richard Ngarava.
