Focus on cricket after emotions settle

Sunday, May 24, 2015
Start time 1900 local (1400GMT)

Something would have seemed amiss had the first match of Pakistan's return home ended in anything other than victory for them. They chased down 173 to put cricket at the forefront of a series threatened to be swept up in sentiment. Now that the emotional tide has settled somewhat, both teams will feel they can get down to business.

For Pakistan, it will be finding consistency in the bowling attack and solidity in the middle order, which they will ultimately hope will lead to securing a trophy at home. Wahab Riaz's waywardness will be an area of concern, especially if the third seamer is as expensive as Bilawal Bhatti was in the first match. While Pakistan will be pleased with the way Mukhtar Ahmed partnered Ahmed Shehzad, they will also want runs from the senior men Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.

For Zimbabwe, it will be building up the confidence to press home any advantage they may get and square a series to set themselves up for the ODIs. Zimbabwe are equally as unused to being ahead of the game as they are to playing in front of massive crowds and the effects of that showed in the first game. After posting a decent total, their bowlers began poorly and the pressure from the partisan crowd mounted. But they will know they competed deep into the game and will now want to take that one step further by ending up on the right side of the result.

Pakistan WLLWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LWWLL

It's difficult to imagine Shahid Afridi overwhelmed but he appeared exactly that in the way he managed his bowlers in the first match. He seemed to be rotating them on feel rather than plan but composed himself enough by the time he needed to bat and hit the winning runs to seal cricket's comeback to his country. His home crowd will hope that the one delivery Afridi faced, which he bludgeoned over the bowler's head, was just a taster for bigger innings.

Since his second stint as captain began, Elton Chigumbura has notched up his highest ODI (90) and T20 (54) score but the increased responsibility is not the only reason for his improving form. Chigumbura has been bumped up the order to bat in the top five and spending more time at the crease seems to be paying off. Both Chigumbura's career bests came in losing causes and the man himself has said that he would find it more rewarding if his next major contribution concludes with a victory.

Pakistan's victory would suggest that no changes are needed but they may want everyone in their T20 squad to get a run at home. Nauman Anwar, Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim and Hammad Azam are the four members of the squad who did not play the first match and may come into contention.

Pakistan: 1 Ahmed Shahzad, 2 Mukhtar Ahmed, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Anwar Ali, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Sami, 11 Bilawal Bhatti

After a spirited performance in the first match, Zimbabwe will not have much reason to change their XI, but may want to look at giving another seamer an opportunity. Tawanda Mupariwa could come in for Tinashe Panyangara while Craig Ervine could be used in the middle order in Sikandar Raza's place.

Zimbabwe: 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Charles Coventry, 4 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza/Craig Ervine, 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk) 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Tinashe Panyangara/Tawanda Mupariwa, 10 Chris Mpofu, 11 Brian Vitori

There will be more runs on offer on a surface that is tailor-made for big totals and that's not the only reason the fielders will be wary. Sunday is expected to be even hotter than Friday was, with day-time temperatures reaching 44 degrees.

Stats and trivia

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