Pakistan level series
A commanding century by Mohammad Hafeez and a four-wicket haul from left-arm seamer Junaid Khan led Pakistan to a series-levelling victory over Zimbabwe in the second one-day international on Thursday.
After Hafeez had carried Pakistan to an imposing total of 299/4 with an unbeaten 136, Junaid stubbed out a promising run chase by the Zimbabweans to secure a a 90-run win and set up a series decider on Saturday.
Captain Brendan Taylor led Zimbabwe’s reply from the front with an assured 79, but his dismissal saw the hosts collapse from 200/4 in the 39th over to 209 all out in the 43rd as Junaid finished with figures of 4/15.
Taylor had shared partnerships with Hamilton Masakadza, Sean Williams and Malcolm Waller as Zimbabwe laid a platform for what would have been the highest successful run chase at Harare Sports Club, only for Junaid and Saeed Ajmal to snuff it out.
Pakistan’s batsmen had struggled in the first ODI on Tuesday, which they lost by seven wickets, leading captain Misbah-ul Haq to call on them to end a prolonged run of substandard performances in 50-over cricket.
Hafeez answered that call with a superb knock, hitting five sixes but also showing restraint after Pakistan had stuttered to 84/3 in the 22nd over.
The 32-year-old gained control of the innings in a 129-run stand with Umar Amin, who recorded his maiden half-century
“They just ran away from us, and scoring 300 against that attack is always going to be difficult,” said Zimbabwean skipper Taylor, whose dismissal triggered a collapse in the middle-order.
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