via Zimbabwe win in style by Afp, Harare
A sturdy 85 from Hamilton Masakadza and a crucial late cameo from Sean Williams saw Zimbabwe record their first one-day win over Pakistan since 1998.
Chasing 245 in the first one-day international of a three-match series on Tuesday, Masakadza laid the platform before Williams finished the job with an unbeaten 39 from 23 deliveries as Zimbabwe won by seven wickets with 10 balls to spare.
Although Misbah-ul-Haq held the Pakistan innings together in his 50th consecutive ODI as Pakistan captain, he was left to lament his decision to bat first at a venue where the pitch generally improves as the day goes on.
“We misread the pitch – it was looking like it was going to be slow in the second innings, but I think it was slow in the first innings and played better in the second,” said Misbah.
“Still I think Zimbabwe really deserved it – they played really well and played better than us. There was no panic in their batting line-up and they did it comfortably.”
Misbah finished unbeaten on 83 and shared in a 99-run stand for the third wicket with Mohammad Hafeez, who made 70, but with Pakistan’s middle and lower order failing to fire they could only manage 244 for seven.
SCORES IN BRIEF
PAKISTAN: 244 for 7 in 50 overs (Jamshed 27, Shehzad 24, Hafeez 70, Misbahul 83 not out; Vitori 2-42, Chatara 2-32)
ZIMBABWE: 246 for 3 in 48.2 overs (Masakadza 85, Sibanda 54, Taylor 43 not out, Williams 39 not out; Ajmal 2-44)
Result: Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets.
Player-of-the-match: Hamilto Masakadza.
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