Agha wants Pakistan to be ‘ruthless’

Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha has stressed the need for a more “ruthless” approach in powerplay overs after his side edged past Zimbabwe by five wickets in the opening match of the T20I tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

In the field, Pakistan came under early pressure as Zimbabwean openers Tadiwanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett reached 59 not out in the powerplay — the Chevrons’ second-highest powerplay score against Pakistan in T20Is. However, despite a flying start, Zimbabwe faltered as Mohammad Nawaz spearheaded a strong Pakistan comeback, restricting them to a modest 147/8.

“It was a close game. We didn’t start well with either bat or ball, and when you don’t start well, the game tends to get closer,” Agha said during the post-match presentation.

He credited Pakistan’s spin unit for dragging the team back into the competition, noting their consistent form in recent months. Agha revealed he expected a lower-scoring clash after assessing the surface on the eve of the match.

“The spinners have done well in the last 4-5 months. They have been the ones who have brought us back into the game,” he said. “When we saw the pitch last night, I knew it wasn’t going to be high-scoring. That’s how it was recently at Pindi. It looked like a 160–180 sort of wicket, but we played really well. I was very happy chasing 147.”

Agha concluded with a clear message for his team heading into the next few games: start stronger, especially in the powerplay.

“We have to start well, bowling or batting. In the powerplay, we have to be ruthless. That’s what I will talk about.”

Pakistan will now face Sri Lanka in the second match of the tri-series on Saturday, again in Rawalpindi.

Earlier, Pakistan started their Tri-nation T20I series campaign with a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe as they chased down a target of 148 runs with four balls to spare here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night.

Zimbabwe will now face Sri Lanka at the same venue on Thursday, November 20 in the second match of the series.

Man-of-the-match Mohammad Nawaz’s contributions throughout (4-0-22-2, 21 off 12) combined with a crucial fifth-round 61 between Fakhar Zaman (44, 32b, 2x4s, 2x6s) and Usman Khan (38b no third), Pakistan (38b no third), 3. win in their last four games.

Zimbabwe’s opening pair of Brian Bennett (49, 36b, 8x4s) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (30, 22b, 3x4s, 1×6) put on a solid 72-run stand in eight overs after Pakistan opted to bowl first.

Pakistan’s bowling attack reined in Zimbabwe’s batting line-up taking eight wickets for 75 runs in the remaining 12 overs after Nawaz halted the progress of the opening duo.

After coming into bat at 94-3 in the 13th over, skipper Sikandar Raza remained unbeaten for 34 off 24 balls (3x4s, 1×6) including a six and a four in the last over of the innings.

In turn, Pakistan stumbled to 54-4 after Saim Ayub (22, 26b, 1×4, 1×6) and Sahibzada Farhan (16, 15b, 3x4s) put on 27 runs for the opening stand.

Fakhar and Usman came together when Pakistan needed 94 runs from 63 balls and hit the 11th over with no boundaries. Usman then hit a boundary each in the 12th and 13th overs, while Fakhar hit sixes each in the next two overs, reducing the tie to 42 needed off the last five overs.

Zimbabwe threatened to tighten the screws with the scalp of Fakhar in the 16th over by Richard Ngarava before Nawaz came in and stitched an unbeaten 36-run stand with Usman.

Nawaz hit a six off Brad Evans in the 17th over after which Pakistan needed 17 from the last two overs. The duo then collected 12 runs from Evans in the penultimate over as, in a dramatic turn of events, they dropped Nawaz and Usman hit a four in the space of two balls.

Tinotenda Maposa – defending five runs from the last over – was hit for four by Nawaz in the first two balls as Pakistan crossed the line.