In Bulawayo on Tuesday, Pakistan’s wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem was instrumental in a 10-wicket Twenty20 international thumping of Zimbabwe that ended the series.
After getting off to a strong start, Zimbabwe collapsed to 57 all out in 12.4 overs as the 25-year-old claimed five straight wickets for the loss of only three runs.
Saim Ayub (36) and Omair Yousuf (22) then helped Pakistan accelerate to 61-0 off 33 balls after winning the first of three matches by 57 runs last Sunday.
The foreigners won a one-day international series 2-1 last week, and Victory completed a white-ball double.
Salman Agha, the captain of Pakistan, stated: “We had plans and carried them out really well, so losing the toss did not concern us.” Sufiyan’s bowling was excellent.
“The performance of our young team, which is full of talented players, is really encouraging to me.”
Sikandar Raza, the captain of Zimbabwe, said that his squad was “all hurting and in a pretty bad place at the moment.”
“We seem to be making the same mistakes match after match, which makes me wonder if we are learning our lessons when we lose.”
In four overs, Zimbabwe’s opening batsmen Brian Bennett (21) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (16), the only players to score in double figures, combined for 37 runs.
Then, as Muqeem wrecked havoc, both fell inside five balls, and the home team lost their 10 wickets for a mere 20 runs.
At the Queens Sports Club, Irfan Khan caught Bennett at deep square leg and Tayyab Tahir caught Marumani at cover point.
All-rounder Raza, who is frequently Zimbabwe’s batting savior, only managed three runs before Abbas Afridi uprooted him off stump.
Raza was one of four bowlers who failed to hold Ayub and Yousuf in check. Between them, the openers hit ten boundaries, including a six each.
Ayub’s four past the backward point completed the win.
On Thursday, Pakistan finished the Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe. After that, they go on an eight-match, all-formats tour that includes two Test matches in South Africa.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the players and referred to today’s game as a “brilliant performance.”
