When Zimbabwe sealed a historic Test win against Pakistan

Pakistan went to Zimbabwe after their disastrous run in the 2013 Champions Trophy. The visitors won the T20I series 2-0 and also claimed the 3-match ODI series after trailing 0-1. Despite the defeats, Zimbabwe put up a spirited performance in the Test series.

The epic Test series

In the first Test, Pakistan were bowled out for 249 and conceded 327 despite a 7-wicket haul by Saeed Ajmal. Zimbabwe’s victory was in sight after Pakistan’s top three were back to the pavilion for 23 runs on the board. Though an unbeaten 200 from Younis Khan not only rescued Pakistan but also paved the path to a victory by 221 runs.

After electing to bat first in the 2nd Test, Brendon Taylor scored 51 runs batting three hours and put on a 110-run stand with Hamilton Masakadza (75) for the 3rd wicket. A collapse followed the partnership that saw Zimbabwe pushed to 187/6. But the bottom four batsmen scored 22, 24, 21 and 19 respectively to help them add 107 runs for the last four wickets and reach 294.

Khurram Manzoor (51) and Younis Khan (77) scored fifties each but Pakistan collapsed to 230 all out after losing six wickets for 19 runs. Zimbabwe made most of the 64-run lead they got as Tino Mawoyo (58) and Hamilton Masakadza (44) who added 104 for the 2nd wicket. Rahat Ali’s spell on the 4th day morning rattled the home team’s lower-order who were limited to 199 only.

A tricky chase

The target of 264 was tricky for Pakistan as the pitch wasn’t easy to bat on. As expected, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals but did manage to narrow down the target. Five partnerships of 30+ for the first seven wickets saw them reach 197/7. Their hopes of a victory were pretty much alive with their skipper Misbah-ul-Haq still at the crease.

But Tendai Chatara completed a 5-wicket haul picking up wickets of Ajmal and Junaid Khan at 214/8 and 238/9 respectively. Two balls later, Rahat Ali was run-out after he tried to put Misbah at the striker’s end for the next over. As a result, Pakistan were bowled out for 239 and ended up losing the match by 24 runs. The Pakistan captain stayed unbeaten on 79 and saw Zimbabwe celebrate their first Test win in 12 years against any team other than Bangladesh.