Zimbabwe pushed Pakistan far harder than the five-wicket margin suggests, but a handful of missed opportunities ultimately left them short in the opening match of the T20 International triangular series in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
After being sent in, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani gave Zimbabwe a dream start with an explosive 72-run opening stand.
Bennett dominated the early scoring, setting the tone by cracking two boundaries in the first over as Shaheen Shah Afridi conceded 13 runs from his opening burst.
Marumani soon found fluency of his own before falling for a lively 30 off 22 balls, caught at deep square leg off a full toss from Mohammad Nawaz.
Brendan Taylor arrived with positive intent, striking two early fours, but he was run out for 14 attempting a risky second run.
At 91 for two after 11 overs, Zimbabwe were superbly placed, with Bennett inching towards a deserved half-century.
But on 49 – having faced 36 deliveries – he chipped a simple return catch to Saim Ayub, sparking a collapse.
Ryan Burl (8) holed out off Nawaz at 106, Tony Munyonga was run out for three at 112 and Tashinga Musekiwa was bowled by Abrar Ahmed for two as the innings unravelled.
Brad Evans fell for one to Afridi, while Tinotenda Maposa was bowled for a single in the penultimate over as Zimbabwe tumbled to 128 for eight.
Captain Sikandar Raza, who had not seen much of the strike, then steadied the innings.
He gathered momentum late and finished unbeaten on 34 from 24 balls – including 12 in the final over – steering Zimbabwe to a competitive 147 for eight.
Nawaz was Pakistan’s most effective bowler, taking two for 22 in four tidy overs.
Pakistan’s chase began briskly, with Sahibzada Farhan and Ayub racing to 27 without loss in four overs, but Zimbabwe hit back through an inspired spell from Evans.
An excellent off-cutter uprooted Farhan for 16 and, three balls later, another off-cutter trapped Babar Azam lbw without scoring.
When Maposa removed Salman Agha lbw for one, Pakistan slumped to 30 for three in the sixth over.
Ayub’s scratchy innings ended on 22 from 26 balls when he miscued a slog-sweep off Graeme Cremer, caught at deep square leg to leave the hosts 54 for four in the 10th over and under genuine pressure.
But Fakhar Zaman and Usman Khan wrested back control with a rapid 61-run stand at almost 10 an over.
Zaman, who struck 45 off 32 balls, eventually fell attempting a ramp off Richard Ngarava, edging through to Taylor.
At that point Pakistan still required 33 from the last four overs.
Nawaz joined Usman and kept the scoreboard moving.
Zimbabwe still had a sniff with 17 needed from the last two overs, but a few lapses came at the worst moment – a dropped catch in the deep, a misfield that trickled away for four and a waist-high no-ball in Evans’ final over that allowed Pakistan to plunder 12 vital runs.
With the pressure lifted, Nawaz sealed the contest in style, striking the first two balls of Maposa’s final over for consecutive fours to finish unbeaten on 21, while Usman ended on a composed 37 not out.
Despite his unfortunate last over, Evans emerged as Zimbabwe’s standout bowler with impressive figures of two for 26.
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