Zimbabwe National Cricket Team Vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard

Pakistan vs Zimbabwe was an exciting contest that left fans on both teams speechless. Sikandar Raza and Blessing Muzarabani both proved themselves reliable wicket-taker, while Salman Agha provided stability at bat.

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first, opening with Joylord Gumbie and Tadiwanashe Marumani getting off to an encouraging start.

For complete match details, check the Zimbabwe National Cricket Team Vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard to see how both sides performed across innings.

Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

Zimbabwe, previously known as Rhodesia, was one of the pioneering African nations to play Test cricket and earned worldwide respect for its fielding skills. Zimbabwe gained full membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1992, playing their inaugural Test match in October against India at Harare Sports Club. Their early performances led some critics to suggest they had been granted full Test status prematurely as they won only one out of their initial 30 tests played; but their one-day performances improved drastically and eventually they defeated Pakistan 3 tests out of 4.

Zimbabwe experienced significant unrest during the early 2000s, which rippled throughout their cricket team. Co-hosting of the 2003 World Cup co-hosted by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga saw their co-hosting experience rocked by a player protest organized by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga against Robert Mugabe’s regime, and senior players quit international cricket (ODI captain Heath Streak left for England to seek political asylum), significantly weakening Zimbabwean side until eventually returning back into ODI and T20 competition seven years later.

Zimbabwe in the second and third decades of the 21st century had many of cricket’s premier talents, such as Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Tendai Chatara. Although they never won any major tournament or championship title during this time, Zimbabwe were highly competitive and made several exciting comeback victories during this period; some notable victories included a nerve-jangling one-run win against Pakistan at 2022 T20 World Cup and another exciting comeback win against Sri Lanka at 2023 ODI World Cup respectively.

The Zimbabwe Cricket Board (ZC) is the national governing body of competitive cricket in Zimbabwe. A full member of the International Cricket Council, it organises Test tours, one-day internationals and twenty20 internationals against other nations as well as domestic cricket competitions like Castle Logan Cup and Coca-Cola Metbank Pro50 Championship matches played within Zimbabwe’s borders. As a not-for-profit organisation it relies on sponsorship income for support.

Match Schedule

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), is an Associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and governs competitive cricket in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe also takes part in Cricket South Africa’s Composite XI series which comprises players from each provincial league leagues; as well as managing day-to-day cricket activities throughout Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces through 10 separate associations that make up its membership.

Zimbabwe’s early days as a Test nation were marred by political upheaval. Led by legendary batsman Andy Flower – once considered one of the finest batsmen ever – during this period, its team also included other outstanding players like his brother Grant Flower as well as allrounders Heath Streak and Andy Blignaut.

In 2004, most of Zimbabwe’s senior players protested their treatment by the Zimbabwe Cricket Board after captain Heath Streak was removed as captain – prompting an extended tour of Sri Lanka in protest over treatment received. Due to this walkout, Zimbabwe did not play Test matches during 2004, yet still maintained full membership of ICC.

In 2009, the team struggled to perform in its ODI series against West Indies and Bangladesh. Nonetheless, in June 2010 their World T20 series match against touring Sri Lankan side was won with an innings difference of 91 runs, giving them some confidence ahead of their second round match-ups.

Zimbabwe finished sixth out of eight teams despite suffering several heavy defeats during the tournament, thanks to their bowlers’ poor performance; particularly against Australia, when they were bowled out for 49 in just over 5 overs; an unprecedented feat for any Zimbabwe team!

Poor performance at the World Cup led Zimbabwean Cricket to borrow money to pay match fees to their players, leading them to decide to make payments in US dollars instead of Zimbabwean currency, much to the disapproval of Zimbabwean media and leading many Zimbabwean cricketers to seek opportunities overseas: opening batsman Vusi Sibanda signed with Gloucestershire for 2007 season while top scorers like Hamilton Masakadza continued playing locally in South Africa.

Predictions

Zimbabwe will look to build upon their success from winning their one-off Test match against Afghanistan by making an effective start in their three-match Twenty20 International series against them. On Thursday they will host Afghanistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Generally, this venue provides an even contest between bat and ball; however teams batting first usually tend to gain advantage here; so both skipper may opt to win the toss and choose bat first instead.

Pakistan successfully took control of their first T20I at Queens with some outstanding bowling from Abrar Ahmed and Sufyan Muqeem, managing to limit Afghanistan to just 82/6 over 20 overs before racing away with victory by six wickets with two overs to spare. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan will look to continue his dominating form in this format; his presence is sure to ensure Pakistan triumph again.

Pakistan will rely heavily on Abrar Ahmed, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Usman Khan in this match as their key players are all capable of taking wickets and creating havoc among Zimbabwe’s batsmen. Furthermore, their bench strength could prove vital as the game goes on.

The visitors will look to rebound from their rain-affected loss in the opening match. Their strong squad is expected to dominate the T20I series; however, Zimbabwe will present them with an uphill struggle.

Zimbabwe may not boast Pakistan’s star players, but they still possess significant experience playing T20 International cricket. Zimbabwe won four out of their last five T20Is including winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Final against Namibia while Pakistan have lost four consecutive T20I matches and must improve in terms of bating performance if they want to compete with Zimbabwe, resulting in an edge towards home side in terms of win probability meter.

Betting odds

Zimbabwe will look to build on their recent momentum following their series win against Sri Lanka when they host Pakistan for three one-day internationals and three T20Is starting January 8 in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe have updated their squads for both formats with some key regulars such as Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi being rested to manage workloads and give emerging talent an opportunity to experience international cricket.

Pakistan have however decided to rest some key regulars, like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi among others in order to give emerging talent an opportunity in international cricket.

Zimbabwe will be led by veteran captain Craig Ervine who will look to capitalize on home conditions and harness his team’s experience to take full advantage of their home conditions and capitalize on past victories.

They will be supported by Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams – two veterans instrumental in previous victories – while for bowling duties they can count on Trevor Gwandu, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Clive Madande, and Tinotenda Maposa – players like Trevor Gwandu.

Pakistan will aim to disrupt Zimbabwe’s batting order and secure early wickets, with Haris Rauf playing an instrumental role against Australia last series. Mohammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, and Shahnawaz Dahani will be crucial in providing fast breakthroughs for visitors while Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani must work to limit opposition runs as part of Zimbabwe’s defence. Use our interactive odds comparison tool before the first ball is bowled to get top value out of each betting odds available before placing your bet!