Pakistan choke! Zimbabwe hand shock 1-run loss at T20 World Cup

Pakistan suffered their second straight defeat at the T20 World Cup and this time it was embarrassing as it came minnows Zimbabwe in a one-run defeat during the Super 12 stages in Perth on Thursday.

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In a match that was a roller-coaster rider for both sides, Pakistan suffered a late middle-order collapse at a time when victory seemed imminent as Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza turned around the game with three wickets in five balls. His 25/3 spell made all the difference as Pakistan’s scoring rate fell significantly while looking to recover from the collapse.

Earlier batting first, Zimbabwe could only manage a 130/8 after they suffer a similar middle-order collapse to Pakistan in the Group 2 match. In reply, Pakistan could come up with 129/8 in 20 overs.

With the defeat, Pakistan are now fifth in six-team Group 2 with two losses in two games and are only ahead of bottom-placed Netherlands on NRR. India, who on Sunday defeated Pakistan in a thriller, are sitting atop with a comfortable win over the Dutch.

Zimbabwe, who came through the first round in Australia to reach the Super 12, are third in Group 2 behind South Africa.

Only the top two reach the semi-finals.

“It’s so special, especially for the work that we did to get into the Super 12s and we didn’t want our tournament to end there,” said Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine.

“We wanted to come in and play some really good cricket against some top teams, and I thought we did that exceptionally well today.”

Pakistan’s chase looked on course when Shan Masood, who made 44, put on a 52-run fourth-wicket partnership with Shadab Khan.

But Sikandar Raza broke the stand with Shadab’s wicket and was to be Pakistan’s tormentor-in-chief, returning figures of 3-25.

Raza, a finger spinner, then trapped Haider Ali lbw on the next ball for nought to be on a hat-trick that was averted by Mohammad Nawaz.

Raza soon took down Masood (44 off 38 balls) and Nawaz attempted to get the remaining runs, 11 off the final over, but was run out on the penultimate ball of the 20th over.

Needing three on the final ball, new batsman Shaheen Shah Afridi ran one but got run out when running for the second as Zimbabwe’s players erupted in celebration.

“Very disappointing performance by my team,” said Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.

“We were not up to the mark in the batting.”

In Pakistan’s reply, Azam got off the mark with a boundary after seven dots, but soon got out to Brad Evans to extend his bad run in the tournament. He fell for a duck against India.

Mohammad Rizwan hit a four and a six but followed his partner back to the dugout after chopping an in-coming delivery from pace bowler Blessing Muzarabani on to his stumps.

Pakistan were in trouble at 36-3 when Luke Jongwe sent back Iftikhar Ahmed for five with his medium-pace bowling, before Masood and Shadab pulled things back for a while.

Zimbabwe’s openers Wesley Madhevere and Ervine had used the pace of Pakistan’s seamers to good effect with a string of boundaries in a 42-run stand.

But all-rounder Shadab’s 3-23 with his wrist spin and pace bowler Mohammad Wasim’s 4-24 held Zimbabwe — whose opening match in the Super 12 in Hobart was a washout — to what seemed a below par total.

Zimbabwe lost four wickets on 95 — Sean Williams, Regis Chakabva, Raza and Jongwe — before Brad Evans took his team past the 120-run mark.

Williams was Zimbabwe’s top scorer with 31 off 28 balls.

With inputs from AFP

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