BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe — In a remarkable display of bowling skill, left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem played a pivotal role as Zimbabwe crumbled to a dismal Twenty20 score of just 57 runs, resulting in a commanding 10-wicket victory for Pakistan on Tuesday.
Muqeem, participating in just his seventh T20 match, broke the previous record held by fast bowler Umar Gul, who had taken five wickets for six runs. Muqeem’s extraordinary performance saw him secure five wickets for only three runs in a mere 16 deliveries.
Zimbabwe was dismissed in a mere 12.4 overs, with Pakistan’s opening pair, Saim Ayub and Omair Bin Yousuf, effortlessly achieving the target of 61 runs without losing a wicket, covering the distance in only 5.3 overs. This victory gave Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, with one final match set to take place on Thursday.
The Zimbabwean batting order faced severe challenges after opting to bat first. Despite a promising start from openers Brian Bennett (21) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (16), who put together a partnership of 37 runs within the first four overs, Zimbabwe’s performance fell apart. They lost 10 wickets for just 20 runs soon after, showcasing their struggle against the Pakistani bowlers.
Fast bowler Abbas Afridi played a crucial role, dismissing Marumani and then uprooting the off stump of captain Sikandar Raza. As Bennett was dismissed by a sharp delivery from Haris Rauf that he top-edged to deep square leg, Zimbabwe found themselves in a precarious position at 40-3.
Muqeem’s masterful leg-spin baffled Zimbabwe’s middle order, claiming the wickets of Ryan Burl and Tashinga Musekiwa in his debut over. He quickly followed by taking out Wellington Masakadza and Richard Ngarava in his second over with his well-placed deliveries. The Zimbabwean innings concluded when Clive Madanda gave an easy catch to Pakistan’s captain Salman Ali Agha in the slips after top-edging one of Muqeem’s deliveries.
This performance marked Zimbabwe’s lowest total in T20 history, surpassing their previous record of 82 runs against Sri Lanka earlier this year in Colombo.
Although Pakistan won the preceding ODI series 2-1, they decided to rest their frontline players, including white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan, for this T20 series.
