Razzaq propels Pakistan
AFP, Multan
All-rounder Abdul Razzaq cracked an aggressive unbeaten hundred and Shahid Afridi a fiery fifty to help Pakistan down Zimbabwe by 144 runs in the opening tri-series match at the Multan cricket stadium Thursday. Razzaq smashed 107 off just 114 balls while Afridi blasted 58 off 26 deliveries to lift their team from 146-6 to 292-7 in the allotted 50 overs after Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat. Zimbabwe could manage 148 in 38.3 overs with Vusimuzi Sibanda top scoring with 57. Zimbabwe, weakened following a strike by 15 white players over allegations of racism in selection six months ago, suffered their 11th consecutive defeat. Dion Ebrahim with 29 was the other notable contributor as the tourists found Pakistan bowling hard to cope in a match Zimbabwe started well before being blown away by Razzaq and Afridi. The Razzaq-Afridi pair punished the tourist's bowling with their ruthless batting, adding 107 off just 46 balls for the seventh wicket to throw inexperienced Zimbabwe out of the driving seat. Razzaq's second one-day hundred was studded with five towering sixes and as many boundaries while Afridi's had four sixes and five boundaries. Pakistan added 145 runs in the last 10 overs. "When I went in with the team in trouble at 36-4 my main aim was to survive the new ball and help my captain build the innings," said Razzaq, who was declared man-of-the-match. "I am happy that I did that and scored my second hundred." Razzaq first added 95 runs for the fifth wicket with captain Inzamamul Haq who initiated his team's fightback with a laboured 73 after Pakistan were reeling at 36-4. Afridi, who also returned figures of 3-18, inspired Razzaq with some lusty hitting, completing his fifty off just 21 balls to thwart an attacking Zimbabwe. Opener Yasir Hameed edged the very first delivery of the game by Tinashe Panyangara to wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu. Panyangara's new ball partner Douglas Hondo then joined the act, dismissing Shoaib Malik (1) and Yousuf Youhana (1) in the space of eight balls to leave Pakistan reeling at 6-3. Debutant Bazid Khan, son of former Pakistan captain Majid Khan, shaped well for his 12 but chased a wide delivery from Panyangara and was well caught by Taibu behind the stumps. It was the sixth instance of a father-son appearing in one-day internationals, after India's Sunil and Rohan Gavaskar and Yograj and Yuvraj Singh, England's Donald and Derek Pringle and David and Graham Lloyd and New Zealand's Lance and Chris Cairns. Zimbabwe captain praised Razzaq and Afridi. "Our bowlers bowled well initially but you can't take away those brilliant knocks by Razzaq and Afridi, they blew us away," said Taibu after the match. "We garnered hopes of upsetting them once we caught them at 146-6 but we didn't finish it off well," said the Zimbabwe captain. After Bazid's dismissal, Inzamam hit eight boundaries and a six before he was judged leg before wicket. Both teams face each other again at Peshawar on Sunday in the tri-series which also involves Sri Lanka. Each team in the series faces the others twice before the top pair meet in October 16 final in Lahore.
|