Zimbabwe beat Pakistan. Third Test win against Pakistan

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Harare, 5th day

'Beating a world-class team is a wonderful feeling' - Taylor

Brendan Taylor has praised his team's "character", coming back from the big loss in the first Test to square the series with a thrilling 24-run win. The victory against Pakistan was their first against a team other than Bangladesh since 2001, and Taylor gave the credit to his bowlers.

"We've done a lot of hard work. We haven't had a bowling coach in six months and that's a credit to them [the bowlers]," Taylor said after the match. "Beating a world-class team is a wonderful feeling. Everyone's contributed, [but] there's still plenty of room for improvement and we'll try to better ourselves."

Zimbabwe came into the final day of the second Test needing five wickets for a win, while Pakistan needed 106 runs. In the first session, they managed to knock over three wickets, but were not able to dislodge Misbah-ul-Haq. Misbah came back after lunch and played a few positive shots to eat into the runs required.

Scoring more quickly was a conscious decision, Misbah said: "It's very simple. If they give me something [to work with], then I'll be positive because it's all about scoring runs. That's what I was doing. I was hoping that someone would stay with me. That's all you can do."

However, the new ball upset Misbah's plans. Taylor took it as soon as it was available and gave it to Tendai Chatara, who had Junaid Khan playing and missing a couple of times before producing an edge with a well-directed length ball. No. 11 Rahat Ali poked at the next ball, the edge fell short at gully and Misbah called him through for a single on the penultimate ball of the over.

Next ball, it was all over with a run-out - Misbah pushed into the covers, Ali ran probably with a view of getting Misbah back on strike for the following over, Misbah tried to send him back, but it was too late. It was Hamilton Masakadza who threw the ball at the non-striker's end to Tinashe Panyangara, who whipped off the bails.

Masakadza said he was still thinking of a missed run-out opportunity in the first over after lunch when this one came along: "I was going to have a shy at the stumps but fortunately Chocky [Panyangara] came up and I saw him just in time. I was getting ready to really let it go. And there was that run-out opportunity in the first over [after lunch] and I was thinking about it all the time, so quite relieved that we managed to get the run-out in the end.

"It's huge, the way we lost the first Test and the fact that we've not beaten one of the bigger sides, only having beaten Bangladesh since we got back to Test cricket, this is really big for us."

 

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Harare, Zimbawe square series with historic win

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Harare, 5th day

Zimbawe square series with historic win

It took a long time coming. The last time Zimbabwe won a Test against a team other than Bangladesh was in 2001, but they stayed patient through the final day even as Misbah-ul-Haq threatened to dash their hopes to win the second Test and square the two-match series.

Zimbabwe began the day just five wickets away. Pakistan weren't too far either: they needed 106 with Misbah still around. By lunch it became two wickets and 47 runs with Misbah still fighting it out. However, despite some quick runs post lunch it took Zimbabwe just one over with the new ball to mop up the Pakistan tail and spark wild celebrations in the ground, in the dressing room, and possibly all over Harare. Tendai Chatara bowled that over, completing his maiden Test five-for.

When the teams started after lunch, there were still four overs to come with the old ball, and Misbah was keen to make the most of it. He lifted the second ball of the second session over the umpire's head, but was fortunate it dropped just short of a diving mid-on fielder. Misbah curtailed his instincts for the next two overs, taking singles towards the end of each as he shielded Junaid Khan from the strike. In the 79th over, he pressed forward and blasted a full delivery over extra cover, then stole a couple of runs to deep cover before walking down the pitch and driving another full delivery past midwicket to the boundary. Off the fifth ball, he took a single to make it 11 off the over. In the 80th, he scored two more boundaries, but crucially for Zimbabwe, the second came off the last delivery, which meant Junaid would be exposed to the new-ball.

Chatara, who had taken two wickets earlier in the day, was entrusted with the new ball and his first delivery - an outswinger past the edge - set the tone as the cordon readied themselves. It didn't take long as Junaid got a thick edge of the fourth delivery, straight to Malcolm Waller at gully. Rahat Ali was the new batsman, and was on strike. He, too, got an away-going delivery and was lucky his edge fell just short of Waller. Misbah, either sensing it wasn't safe to leave the No. 11 even for one delivery or thinking the ricochet had gone far enough for them to take two runs, charged down the other end. He had one ball to face, and he had to make sure he kept the strike for the next over.

Mishah pushed the last ball softly towards cover, but after taking a couple of steps, he realised the fielder was too close. He tried to send the charging Rahat back, but by that time it was too late. The fielder lobbed the ball to the non-striker's end to complete an easy run-out, and the team erupted in ecstasy after completing their third Test win against Pakistan.

The start of the day was more sedate and planned. The home team didn't show any signs of restlessness as they stuck to their disciplined lines outside off and preyed on batsmen's patience. Adnan Akmal didn't last too long, falling in the fourth over of the morning to Chatara. Abdur Rehman provided more stubborn resistance. He partnered Misbah for 16 overs, but the stand didn't really threaten Zimbabwe as only 34 runs were scored.

Towards the end of that partnership, Rehman showed the first signs that Pakistan were getting a move on when he charged down the pitch against Prosper Utseya and smashed for four over mid-on. His eagerness to score - he almost drove a slower delivery straight to cover in the next over - finally consumed him as he poked at a length delivery, and was caught behind. Zimbabwe had an opening, and they widened it further with the wicket of Saeed Ajmal late in the session. Chatara pitched it just short of a length and got it to sharply jag back into Ajmal, who was hit in front of off as the ball stayed low. The bowler then sprinted towards the boundary in celebration knowing the team was slowly inching close.

The celebration paled in comparison with the scenes the eventual win brought about. The magnitude of this win for a team that was not even ranked in the ICC Test team rankings before the series, in circumstances that were testing the fabric of the game in the country, is huge. The signs were there. The team won a match in the ODI series, and competed hard in the first Test only to lose it at the end to some individual brilliance. There was a bit of Cool Runnings about it; only that the Zimbabwe team went one better than the Jamaican bobsleigh team to emerge winners.

 

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test Pakistan claw back with late strikes

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Harare, 3rd day

Pakistan claw back with late strikes

Pakistan's collapse against the second new ball and determined batting from Tino Mawoyo and Hamilton Masakadza put Zimbabwe slightly ahead in the second and final Test. Zimbabwe's fast bowlers ripped through Pakistan on either side of lunch, the visitors collapsing from 211 for 4 to 230 all out. Mawoyo and Masakadza then built the lead to 185, but their dismissals, at the stroke of stumps, helped Pakistan to claw back.

Brian Vitori, in his first Test in nearly 20 months, did most of the damage with the ball, claiming his maiden five-wicket haul, while Tinashe Panyangara dislodged the solid Younis Khan for 77. Zimbabwe's efforts earned them a 64-run lead, to go along with a 78-run first-innings advantage in the first Test.

Pakistan's strategy in the morning seemed to be to try and get through to the ball change, due in 12 overs at the start, with their overnight pair of Misbah and Younis. That was a sensible thought, the pair having added 67 in a rebuilding effort the previous evening. But the manner in which both executed that strategy stalled Pakistan. Only 19 runs were added in the 12 overs leading up to the new ball, five of them from part-timer Elton Chigumbura.

Admittedly, as on the previous day, run-scoring wasn't easy on the pitch. The ball wasn't quite coming on, the medium-pace and disciplined lengths of the Zimbabwe seamers weren't helping and the cracks on the good length area would have been on the minds of the batsmen. Still, 48 runs from 28 overs in the morning session was too sluggish a scoring rate.

After successfully making it to the new ball in his chosen way, Misbah decided to change his approach. The second delivery Vitori bowled with the new one, a wide one outside off, Misbah lunged to drive and edged to first slip for 33 from 120 balls. It was the third successive time in the series Misbah had fallen after getting a start and also the third successive time he had given it away trying a forcing stroke against the run of play.

Asad Shafiq hung around for a while before he was bowled by a sharp incutter from Tendai Chatara, stuck on the crease in a dismissal identical to the way he had gone in the second innings of the first Test.

Pakistan ran only eight singles in the first session and went to lunch on 211 for 5, still 83 behind Zimbabwe's 294. After the break, Younis came out appearing intent to make amends for Pakistan's sedate start. He drove at everything that was pitched up. Panyangara gave him three successive such deliveries, wide outside off, all of which were driven. The fourth one was bowled into the pad. Younis, with his instinct to push forward, could not keep the flick down and midwicket took the catch.

It was mostly down to Adnan Akmal now, Abdur Rehman having gone lbw first ball to Panyangara. But unlike the second innings of the first Test, the wicketkeeper disappointed. He was beaten on the drive by Vitori, bowling from round the wicket, but went for a similar expansive stroke next ball, and was taken at second slip. Unlike Zimbabwe's last pair, there was absolutely no resistance from Pakistan's tail, Vitori snapping up the last two to end with 5 for 61.

Zimbabwe were hampered at the start of their second innings, the ill Vusi Sibanda unable to open. The offspinner Prosper Utseya, who usually bats at No. 8, was promoted instead, but did not last long. Mawoyo and Masakadza, though, hung in to get through the 14 overs till tea. The often unplayable zip and movement Junaid Khan had generated in the first innings was absent, and that allowed the duo to settle in. Both drove well off the front foot, especially against the spinners.

There were a few hiccups after tea, chiefly against Rehman. But luck favoured Zimbabwe. Masakadza played back and was beaten off two successive pitched-up deliveries from Rehman that stayed low, but just missed off stump. Rehman got the odd ball to kick from around the same spot, but was unlucky to miss the edge. When he found it, with Mawoyo on 52, Adnan dropped the catch.

Rehman's perseverance finally brought him just reward, with only two more overs left, as Mawoyo was trapped in front on 58 with an arm ball. Four deliveries later, Rahat rapped Masakadza on the pad, and umpire Steve Davis upheld the appeal, replays suggesting the ball may have missed off on the angle. Two deliveries later, Rehman struck again, having the nightwatchman Chatara pop one to short leg. Zimbabwe's lead was 15 short of 200, but Rehman had ensured Pakistan were still in the game.

 

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Harare, Highlights The milestone The celebration

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Harare, 2nd day

Vitori's handstand and the run-out verdict

Plays of the day for the second day of the second Test in Harare

The celebration

It's not often a batting team celebrates being bowled out, but when Tendai Chatara and Brian Vitori left the field, they did. Zimbabwe had managed 294, a total which seemed unlikely when they finished day one on 237 for 8. The last pair put on 46 runs on a tricky surface so even when Chatara was judged lbw to Abdur Rehman, there was reason to be cheerful. As the two bowlers hurried off, they high-fived each other on a job well done and wore satisfied grins, no doubt because of their effort with the bat.

The warm-up

Vitori had spent enough time on the park to consider himself warmed up and he did not take part in as many of the pre-fielding activities as the rest. He did, however, ensure he completed what must be a personal ritual for getting ready to bowl. After taking his position at fine leg and looking around to make sure as few people as possible were watching, Vitori proceeded to complete a perfect handstand. With hands firmly on the ground, he extended his legs in the air and stayed in the position for a couple of seconds before resuming an upright position.

The decision

The third umpire has not been needed much in this match but when he was called on, he had a tricky decision to make. Khurram Manzoor became another victim of Younis Khan's uncertain running when he was sent back after thinking of a sneaky single and was found short of his crease when Richmond Mutumbami broke the stumps. The only question was whether the wicketkeeper had done so legally with ball in hand, for there was some doubt if he had accidentally knocked the bails with his body first. Several replays later, Owen Chirombe was confident enough to send Manzoor on his way.

The pose

Vitori was convinced he had taken a second wicket when Manzoor shouldered arms late to a delivery that went down the leg side. He and wicketkeeper Mutumbami both went up, convinced Manzoor had edged but the batsman had the more persuasive body language. Manzoor remained standing, still as a statue arms in the air, bat aloft as if to indicate he had only been leaving the ball. Steve Davis agreed.

The milestone

It did not come through with any elegance but Younis Khan probably would not have minded. An edge, produced by Vitori, snuck through the gap between the slips and gully and scuttled to the boundary. It brought up two important milestones for Younis - his fifty and 7,000 runs in Test cricket.

And when Pakistan landed in Zimbabwe, the expectations were high for Pak. As luck would have it, they lost the first ODI and bounced back immediately and won the series. Zimbabwe team always use to bring in surpises like they did in WC 1983 when they beat Aussies and beat Pakistanis in their own backyard in Peshawar and they even defeated in Pakistan by an Innings ( and of course Pak immediately handed them an Innnings defeat) and Pak is the only team to suffer so in Tests. But the ongoing season doesn't seem to bring in any surprise by Zimbabwe team. This may be due to their not playing top test teams regularly and playing matches only against minnows like Bangladesh, West indies. As has been rightly pointed by this writer Firdose to give chance to Zimbabwe team by ICC and other Boards. The worry for the Cricket Boards may be more of their commercial interests rather than cricketing reasons. Hope better sense will prevail upon the Administrators to include Zim in FTP.

 

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Harare, 1st day

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Harare, 1st day

Zimbabwe bat, Taylor and Vitori back

In what could be Zimbabwe's last international match before the World T20s next year, Brendan Taylor, who missed the first Test due to the birth of his first child, chose to bat on a fresh Harare pitch that had questions raised about it on the eve of the Test. Taylor said they competed well for three and a half days of the first Test and hoped the team could raise its game one last time.

"We were basically outplayed by two of their players," Taylor said at the toss in reference to Younis Khan and Saeed Ajmal. With the team batting first, Zimbabwe have at least avoided facing the Pakistan spinners last. But the pitch had a greenish tinge on it and facing the fast bowlers will remain a challenge for Zimbabwe's top order.

Zimbabwe brought in Brian Vitori in place of Shingi Masakadza and Sikandar Raza missed out with the captain coming back into the side. Taylor confirmed that he was not going to keep wicket, so Richmond Mutumbami kept his place in the side.

Pakistan retained the XI that won the first Test.

Zimbabwe 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Tino Mawoyo, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt), 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Elton Chigumbura, 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Tinashe Panyangara, 10 Tendai Chatara, 11 Brian Vitori

Pakistan 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Khurram Manzoor, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Rahat Ali, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Abdur Rehman

For Zimbabwe though, apart from Masakadza and Taylor, none of the batsmen were able to apply themselves against Pakistan's tenacious bowling. Masakadza and Taylor had come together at the dismissal of Vusi Sibanda with the score on 31, but added 110 to settle the nerves after initial jitters. The century partnership between the two was a story of two halves: the first dominated by Masakadza and the second by Taylor.

In the initial phase, Masakadza looked to score freely while Taylor soaked up the deliveries. He stayed back against the spinners, but was quick to pounce on anything tossed up, preferring to hit over the infield. One such shot took him to his first half-century against Pakistan. Two overs later, he punched a quicker one to the cover boundary to bring up the fifty of the partnership, with Taylor scoring only 7.

In the next half though, Taylor assumed the role of the aggressor, announcing his intentions with aerial boundaries off Saeed Ajmal and Rehman. The run-rate hovered around 2.5, but when the opportunities came, Taylor made sure he was ready. He reverse-swept an Ajmal doosra, then creamed a full delivery from Rahat Ali to the cover boundary. When the partnership reached 100, Taylor had taken over the scoring, with 32 runs in the second fifty.

The free-scoring came after the batsmen had warded off the threat from Pakistan's seamers in the first session when the ball was darting around. Zimbabwe lost their first wicket off the second delivery of the day and only two runs were scored in the first 40 minutes.

The first over, bowled by Junaid, was almost unplayable and accounted for the wicket of Tino Mawoyo as the batsman was squared up by one that cut across him. The umpire was convinced the ball had taken the edge after the Pakistan team went up in a loud appeal. Replays showed that the ball might have hit the thigh pad along the way and not the bat, but Mawoyo, who has had a poor run of scores opening in Tests, had to go.

Rahat started in the same vein from the other end and with plenty of movement on offer, kept the batsmen guessing, as ball after ball, the batsmen played and missed. He bowled a slightly fuller length and a wider line than Junaid, and induced as many errors, but earned the wicket of Sibanda with a short one. He came back to pick another wicket towards the end of the day with the new ball.