Summary The second ODI between Pakistan and Zimbabwe will be played at Harare today (Thursday).
HARARE (Agencies) – The second one-day international (ODI) between Pakistan and Zimbabwe will be played today. The match will start at 12:30pm (PST).
Having beaten Pakistan by seven wickets in the first game, hosts Zimbabwe are a win away from claiming their first ODI series win over the same opponents and with it their first significant bilateral series in 12 years.
Following the 5-0 sweep at the hands of a weakened India last month, Brendan Taylor s team are now in the rare position to press for an epic series win over top-class opposition.
Zimbabwe have never beaten Pakistan in bilateral ODI series dating back to 1993; they lost eight and drew one series 1-1 in 1995.
Tuesday s victory was Zimbabwe s first over Pakistan in 15 years, but it remains to be seen if they can reproduce such a performance a second time in less than three days. The win was fashioned in the field where Pakistan lost five wickets for 44 runs after being given a 99-run stand for the third wicket and could only manage 244 for 7, a total that Zimbabwe overhauled with ten deliveries remaining.
For Pakistan, the sloppy batting and lacklustre bowling will be a concern. Openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad were far from fluent while the lower middle order managed 20 runs between them. Batting has for long been Pakistan s problem and the way they collapsed in Harare on Tuesday was just another example of adding to a lost cause. Barring Saeed Ajmal, no bowler made inroads and Shahid Afridi s bad day (0 for 51 in nine overs) was a contributor to a shock defeat.
Pakistan are in the unfamiliar position of needing to beat a minnow team to salvage a series, and how they retaliate adds to the appetising fixture.
