Zimbabwe vs Pakistan 2nd T20 Predictions and Preview

It was a sad, failed underdog story that unfolded in Harare yesterday. Zimbabwe had one of the best chances they’ve ever gotten against Pakistan, but failed to capitalize on it. This will sap whatever morale they have, but might also embolden Pakistan into the point of complacency. The visitors now have the lead, and just need one more win to secure the series, but the home side have shown that their bowling is not to be trifled with. Before the two teams meet again, let’s take a look at how yesterday unfolded. 

Zimbabwe

Predicted XI for 2nd T20 vs Pakistan

Sean Williams (c), Tadiwanashe Marumani, Regis Chakabwa (wk), Ryan Burl, Craig Ervine, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Wesley Madhevere, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Donald Tiripano.

Zimbabwe team preview and form

It seems that Zimbabwe’s troubles continue to lie in their batting, the lineup of which was damaged further with Brendan Taylor being sick. Bowling first, most of their bowlers were able to keep things very tight, with Luke Jongwe and Wesley Madhevere picking up two wickets each, and Blessing Muzarabani picking up one while at it. Chasing only 149, it was a slow start by Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, who got a decent 29 off 35, and although Craig Ervine added 34 off 23 and Luke Jongwe later got another 30 off 23, no other batter could reach 15, and the hosts fell 11 runs short.

Zimbabwe key players for 2nd T20 vs Pakistan

Sean Williams: After a poor start, Williams will look to improve on his performance.

Craig Ervine: The only player to show some real skill and panache, Ervine must come up with a bigger innings to take his team through.

Bless Muzarabani: As usual, Muzarabani was the most reliable bowler in the Zimbabwean lineup.

Luke Jongwe: After a terrific all-round performance, Jongwe will want to add more runs and wickets to his tally.

Pakistan

Predicted XI for 2nd T20 vs Zimbabwe

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Sharjeel Khan, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain, Arshad Iqbal, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Pakistan team preview and form

With a sigh of relief, Pakistan will be assessing what went wrong and trying to patch up their plans accordingly. Only Mohammad Rizwan (82 off 61) stood tall as they put up a shambolic batting performance, with extras being the second-highest scorer tied with Danish Aziz. After somehow crawling to 149, Pakistan changed gears and took advantage of their hosts’ batting weaknesses. Usman Qadir starred with 3, while Mohammad Hasnain took two to pin their opponents down for an only partially-deserved 11-run victory.

Pakistan key players for 2nd T20 vs Zimbabwe

Babar Azam: It’s rare for Azam to have consecutive bad matches.

Mohammad Rizwan: After a performance like that, Rizwan has every right to be here.

Usman Qadir: The spinner showed plenty of skills on the Harare pitch yesterday. 

Mohammad Hasnain: After picking up two important wickets in the last match, Hasnain will be hungry for more.

Zimbabwe vs Pakistan 2nd T20 pitch report and weather conditions

The pitch at the Harare Sports Club proved to be just as tricky for batsmen as expected, with only 287 runs scored between the two teams in the first match. Bowlers had a great time, and chances are, they will continue to do so in this series. Expect teams winning the toss to choose to bowl, and those batting first to aim for 160.

As we mentioned before, the weather in Harare will continue to be at a cool 20°C or so. Only this time, there’s the caveat of a little bit of possible precipitation on the cards. 

Can Zimbabwe bounce back to complete what they failed to do in the first T20? Or will Pakistan continue their flawless run against their hosts? Find out if our Zimbabwe versus Pakistan 2nd T20 predictions come true on Friday!