Pakistan thump Zimbabwe in first T20 match

PAKISTAN 149 for 7 (Rizwan 82*, Madhevere 2-11, Jongwe 2-24) beat Zimbabwe 138 for Z7 (Ervine 34, Qadir 3-29, Hasnain 2-27) by 11 runs

ZIMBABWE made a disappointing start to their T20 series against touring Pakistan, losing by 11 runs at Harare Sports Club in a match they should have won.

Captain Sean Williams expressed disappointment after the match and opined that small issues had cost them the match.

Pakistan's Mohammed Rizwan, who was named man of the match, was the big difference scoring an unbeaten 82 to set Zimbabwe a target of 150 runs from their 20 overs after Sean Williams had won the toss, electing to field first.

His 82 came off 61 balls featuring ten boundaries and one that cleared the rope.

Zimbabwe only managed 138 for 7 with Craig Ervine top scoring with 34. But the hosts were their own enemies as they lost wickets in clusters and in the end put up a tame attempt despite the match looking winnable for much of their innings.

Usman Qadir took three wickets at the expense of 29 runs in his four overs while Mohammad Hasnain claimed two scalps for the visitors.

Mohammad Hafeez and Haris Rauf shared two wickets.

Unlike Pakistan who were cantering at the back end of their innings, Zimbabwe struggled to set the stage alight despite a good start in their chase.

Williams said it was inexcusable to lose such a match considering they had bowled so well.

He also opined that Pakistan got 20 runs too many and they would have been happy to chase anything in the region of 130s.

"It's inexcusable to drop so many catches against such a quality side. There are small things that we need to improve on to beat such top sides. I felt that they got 20 runs too many," he said before revealing bad news on Ervine's injury.

"I must give credit to Ervine who batted so well despite a serious calf injury. The wicket played to our favour and it was important to win the toss. In the end, it's inexcusable to lose a game like this."

Ervine could be a doubt for tomorrow's match as he limped almost throughout his innings.

His absence could be a further blow considering Zimbabwe were without Brendan Taylor, who missed yesterday's match through illness. Zimbabwe will need all the experience they can summon to keep the series alive as their batting let them down yesterday. Luke Jongwe scored 30 while Ryan Burl had 14 and it was just not enough.

Tadiwanashe Marumani, who was the second highest run scorer in the domestic T20 competition prior to this series, won his first cap, but found the going tough after he was dismissed for a single ball duck.

Jongwe, making a return to international cricket after a long absence, took two wickets while the other two quicks, Blessing Muzarabani (1 for 22) and Richard Ngarava (1 for 48) shared two scalps.

Wesley Madhevere took two wickets retaining figures of two for 11 from his two overs.

Opening batter Tinashe Kamunhukamwe said he was looking forward to the next match where they will be looking to rectify errors from yesterday's match.

"I think we have got to try and avoid group wickets, it's one thing that cost us and if we can build partnerships we will be okay. We have a number of young guys, so we need to target twos and run a lot between the wickets. We have to try and challenge fielders and that way we can give ourselves a better chance," he said.