Twitter Reactions: Clinical Pakistan roll over Zimbabwe to finish series 2-0

The action lasted only 30 balls on Day 4 as Luke Jongwe edged Shaheen Afridi behind to bring down curtains on an outrageously one-sided affair.

By Pratyay Tiwari

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Pakistan Cricket Team
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Pakistan Cricket Team. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Even the most ardent supporters of ‘everything is possible in cricket’ ideology could not have argued against Pakistan, who needed only one wicket in two days to record a clean sweep against Zimbabwe. And that took merely 30 balls as Luke Jongwe edged Shaheen Afridi behind to bring down curtains on an outrageously one-sided affair, which Pakistan clinched by an innings and 147 runs.

After Zimbabwe had competed in the T20I series and even managed to register their maiden win in their 17th attempt, there were hopes for them to show some fighting spirit in the longest format. Although, they did not show much, and the little they did go in vain. The second Test was a game of Alis, with Abid, Azhar, Nuaman, and Hasan shining for the team. Abid and Azhar broke the backs of the opponent through a mammoth 236-run stand, staying 450 balls together in a partnership that nearly lasted an entire day after Pakistan batted first.

If Azhar’s century had punctured the bowling attack, Abid continued to road-roll them on even the next day, converting his century into a massive double. Alongside him was another Ali, Nauman, who got 97 of his own in the most entertaining and counterattacking styles.

The record 8th wicket partnership of 169 between Abid and Nauman was the one that extended the opponents’ first innings outing with the ball to five sessions at a stretch, also pummeling any chances for them to fold Pakistan under 400 despite Blessing Muzarabani’s late dent on day one. But with Pakistan racking up over half a thousand runs, Zimbabwe’s bleak batting lineup was pushed into playing a perennial catch-up.

Dominant Pakistan finish formalities

So much that not even two innings proved sufficient for them to reach even slightly close to that 510-tally. Hasan Ali barged in their batting order, trimming them to 132 all out on the back of his 5/27. But if it was Hasan in the first, Nauman joined the party in the second alongside a seething Shaheen Afridi, who sent back Tarisai Musakanda as early as the fifth over of Zimbabwe’s follow-on response, who was still over 360 behind to make Pakistan bat again.

The hopes, momentarily, shot up with Regis Chakabva’s solidity and Brendan Taylor’s punch as Zimbabwe appeared comfortable for the first time in the middle with runs coming freely. However, if they even mildly fancied a chance to get rid of the burden of the innings defeat, both Nauman and Shaheen had belligerent plans, with the latter getting Taylor caught behind, while Nauman sending back Milton Shumba and Donald Tiripano in the face of Luke Jongwe’s steadfast defense.

Once Afridi landed two consecutive blows to bring Zimbabwe nine down and take the game into an extended result-procuring session, all that Jongwe and Muzarabani managed was to successfully force the game into the fourth day, leaving Pakistan just a formality wicket away to end their South African tour unblemished, having ended victoriously in the ODIs and T20Is against South Africa before winning both the T20I and the Test series against Zimbabwe.

The second Test recorded three fifers: Hasan in the first, while Nuaman and Shaheen in the second, although it was the double-century from Abid Ali that earned him the Player of the Match, while Hasan bagged the Player of the Series for his clinical performance across both the Tests.

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