BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe — Young all-rounder Tinotenda Maposa delivered an impressive performance in his Twenty20 debut, leading Zimbabwe to a thrilling two-wicket victory over Pakistan in the final match of the series on Thursday.
Zimbabwe’s batters faced challenges once again, putting them at risk of suffering a clean sweep after losing the first two matches. However, the 21-year-old Maposa took charge, delivering a stunning finish by hitting left-arm fast bowler Jahandad Khan for both a four and a six in the last over, securing a total of 133-8 with just one ball remaining. He ended the game unbeaten on 12 runs from just four balls.
Earlier, Pakistan, having made four changes to their lineup after clinching the series with a 2-0 lead, could only muster 132-7 after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani made an impact by claiming two wickets during the powerplay, while Maposa bowled steadily, dismissing Tayyab Tahir (21) just as Pakistan was attempting to stabilize their innings.
Captain Salman Ali Agha managed to stay grounded, scoring 32 runs off 32 balls, and teamed up with Qasim Akram (20) to add 30 runs together before Qasim fell in the 12th over when Dion Myers made a spectacular catch at backward point. Zimbabwe’s bowlers prevented Salman from pushing for quick runs in the closing stages, leading to a run-out caused by confusion with Arafat Minhas, who finished not out on 22.
In their previous matches, Zimbabwe had an abysmal performance, losing by 57 runs in the first game after collapsing for just 31 runs in eight wickets and then suffering a historic low of 57 runs in the second match to lose by ten wickets.
With key fast bowler Haris Rauf rested, Pakistan’s secondary bowlers struggled during the powerplay, allowing Brian Bennett (43) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (15) to rack up 40 runs in the first 19 deliveries. Bennett found particular success against Mohammad Hasnain, Rauf’s replacement, hitting four boundaries in one over that cost 19 runs.
Marumani was dismissed by off-spinner Salman, leading to a catch at square leg, while Bennett eventually fell to left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, who had taken five wickets in the second match for just three runs. Muqeem (1-19) maintained the pressure on the Zimbabwean batsmen, completing a maiden over in his final spell as Zimbabwe lost six wickets for just 47 runs, with Abbas Afridi claiming 3-24.
With 12 runs required in the final over, Maposa hit Jahandad for a boundary to fine leg on the opening ball, followed by a massive six over mid-wicket on the next. Jahandad failed to run out Maposa on the third ball after missing the stumps at the non-striker’s end. After Tashinga Musekiwa was caught at wide mid-on with two runs left off three balls, Richard Ngarava sealed the win for Zimbabwe by driving the seamer to mid-on.
Pakistan had previously won the ODI series against Zimbabwe by a score of 2-1 and is set to depart for South Africa, where they will face three Twenty20s, three ODIs, and two test matches, kicking off with the first T20 match next Tuesday.
