Pakistan in Zimbabwe, 2011
Wisden's review of the third ODI, Zimbabwe v Pakistan in Zimbabwe, 2011
Neil Manthorp
15-Apr-2012
At Harare, September 14, 2011. Third one-day international: Pakistan won by 28 runs. Pakistan 270-5 (50 overs) (Imran Farhat 37, Asad Shafiq 51, Younis Khan 81); Zimbabwe 242-9 (50 overs) (V. Sibanda 59, C. J. Chibhabha 62; Aizaz Cheema 4-43).
Mohammad Hafeez (23 in 21 balls) and Imran Farhat gave Pakistan a flying start and they never looked back - at least not until the final five overs, when they seemed to hit the brake rather than the accelerator. Younis Khan made a classy 81, but Misbah-ul-Haq managed only a run-a-ball 29 and Adnan Akmal's unbeaten 24 at the end required 33 deliveries and contained only one boundary. Even so, a target of 271 was always likely to be too many for Zimbabwe. Despite a competent - if slightly sluggish - century opening stand between Sibanda and Chibhabha, the home side slipped behind the rate, allowing Cheema to claim three late wickets and the match award as Pakistan took the series 3-0.
MoM: Aizaz Cheema. Man of the Series: Younis Khan. One-day international debut: Yasir Shah.
Neil Manthorp is a South African broadcaster and journalist, and head of the MWP Sport agency