Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2015-16
Wisden's review of the first ODI, Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2015-16
15-Apr-2016
First one-day international At Harare, October 1, 2015. Pakistan won by 131 runs. Pakistan 259-6 (50 overs) (Sarfraz Ahmed 44, Shoaib Malik 31, Mohammad Rizwan 75*, Imad Wasim 61); ‡Zimbabwe 128 (37 overs) (Yasir Shah 6-26). MoM: Yasir Shah. ODI debuts: B. B. Chari (Zimbabwe); Aamer Yamin (Pakistan).
Watching paint dry would have been more entertaining than this contest, which never threatened to come to life on another atrociously slow pitch. Sarfraz Ahmed worked hard to repair some early damage but, when he lost patience and carted leg-spinner Graeme Cremer to deep midwicket, Pakistan were 128-5. Rizwan and Imad both made their highest scores, although neither timed anything terribly well, apart from their running between the wickets. Only in the final moments of their 128-run sixth-wicket stand did batting look less difficult than hitting a rock with a hockey stick. When Pakistan's spinners came on, it was men against boys. They claimed all ten Zimbabwean wickets, with Yasir Shah producing a fine exhibition of variation and control for a career-best 6-26.
Watching paint dry would have been more entertaining than this contest, which never threatened to come to life on another atrociously slow pitch. Sarfraz Ahmed worked hard to repair some early damage but, when he lost patience and carted leg-spinner Graeme Cremer to deep midwicket, Pakistan were 128-5. Rizwan and Imad both made their highest scores, although neither timed anything terribly well, apart from their running between the wickets. Only in the final moments of their 128-run sixth-wicket stand did batting look less difficult than hitting a rock with a hockey stick. When Pakistan's spinners came on, it was men against boys. They claimed all ten Zimbabwean wickets, with Yasir Shah producing a fine exhibition of variation and control for a career-best 6-26.