NEW DELHI: Pakistan experienced their worst nightmares of recent times on Thursday as they suffered a shock one run defeat against minnows Zimbabwe in Perth. Chasing a par 131 for victory, Pakistan could only get to 129 in stipulated 20 overs for the loss of 8 wickets.
Sikandar Raza was the star of the match for the African nation as his bowling effort of 3 for 25 along with disciplined bowling from the rest of his teammates helped Zimbabwe secure a historical win at the cricketing carnival Down Under.
Pakistan who were pretty good in the first half of the match only had themselves to blame as their batters had a horrible outing in a mediocre chase.
Here's a quick look at the key moments in Pakistan's shocker against Zimbabwe.
1) The Powerplay overs - Zimbabwe openers Wesley Madhevere (17) and Craig Ervine (19) built initial pressure on Pakistan, giving Zimbabwe a quick start in the first four overs. A quality Pakistan bowling attack was stunned by the duo who added 38 runs in the first 4 overs.
2) Ryan Burl and Brad Evans stand lower down the order - Zimbabwe were tottering at 95 for 7 as Pakistan bowlers made a superb comeback after getting tonked in the powerplay overs. But Ryan Burl and Brad Evans 31-run 8th wicket partnership off 29 balls helped Zimbabwe get to a respectable total. While Evans scored important 19 runs in the partnership, Burl remained unbeaten on 10 taking Zimbabwe to 130 for 8.
3) Babar and Rizwan flop shows - Openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who have been the backbone of Pakistan's batting lineup for the last couple of years flopped for the second time in a row at the ongoing T20 World Cup. After torrid outings against India, both the Pakistan openers flopped once again scoring 4 and 14 respectively. Their shock dismissals in the powerplay exposed the untested and inexperienced middle order into action way too early.
4) Shadab throwing away his wicket - After the initial setbacks in the 131 run chase, Pakistan's ship was steadied with Shan Masood and Shadab Khan 52-run partnership for the fourth wicket. But then 14th over Shadab (17) got carried away after hitting a six off Sikandar Raza and got out the very next ball, attempting another maximum.
5) Raza -- The Star - After getting rid of Shadab Khan, spinner Sikandar Raza got Haider Ali as well on the fifth delivery of the 14th over, pushing Pakistan on the backfoot in the chase with Shan Masood stranded at the other end. Raza's two-in-two completely changed the complexion of the game in favour of Zimbabwe.
6) - Masood blow - The lone man fighting for Pakistan, Shan Masood (44) was outwitted by Sikandar Raza for his third wicket in the 16th over as the left-hander was stumped down the leg side, courtesy a smart glovework by Regis Chakabva. With the Masood wicket, gates truly opened for a Zimbabwe victory as they started to believe that they could cause an upset from thereon.
7) Nawaz's irresponsible shot in the final over - With 3 runs needed off the final 3 balls, Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Wasim Jr (34-run partnership) had the match in their grasp but Nawaz went for the glory shot off Brad Evans on the fifth ball of the over and got caught at mid-off after mistiming it. On the final ball, Pakistan needed 3 runs but Shaheen Afridi got run out, trying to secure a tie. With the run out off the last ball, Zimbabwe secured a thrilling one-run win.
