Pakistan Zimbabwe live score, T20 World Cup scorecard: Babar, Rizwan begin 131 chase vs ZIM

Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the Pakistan vs Zimbabwe T20 World Cup 2022 match in Perth.

Babar was out for a first-ball duck against Zimbabwe. Ngarava with the new ball. Rizwan will take strike. Ngarava gets good swing into the right-hander. Rizwan is cramped for room. Dot ball. Rizwan is hurried by a pacy short ball. The batters scamper through for a single.

Babar and Rizwan will begin the chase shortly. They would want to chase this down as quickly as possible so that they can also give that net run rate of theirs a boost.

END OF INNINGS

Wasim to close out. Evans on strike. Wasim starts with a dot. Evans launches the second ball over wide long on for six. That’s an 84-metre six! He is clean bowled next ball! His best figures in T20Is. He can still get a five-for! Richard Ngarava, left handed bat, comes to the crease. A single each off the fourth and fifth balls, respectively. Two off the last ball. 10 from the over. Zimbabwe finishes on 130/8.

ZIM 120/7 v PAK in 19 overs: Haris Rauf to bowl out. Burl gets a reprieve off the third ball. He is dropped by Haider at deep midwicket. Burl collects two. Rauf ends by conceding a single. This is now his most economical spell in T20Is. 1 for 12 from 4. Could have had a second but for that drop.

ZIM 115/7 v PAK in 18 overs: Naseem bowls a seven-run 18th over. A three and four singles. Excellent death bowling this.

ZIM 108/7 v PAK in 17 overs: Here’s Rauf. Brilliant from the right-armer. Fast and furious. Four from the over. Pakistan pacers have given away nothing here. After the initial onslaught, this has been a terrific adjustment.

ZIM 104/7 v PAK in 16 overs: Shaheen Shah back into the attack. Loud lbw appeal off the third ball but that was going down leg. Burl steals a leg bye. 6 off the over. Shaheen is done. 4-0-29-0 today. Another wicketless match.

ZIM 98/7 v PAK in 15 overs: Wasim into the attack. Sikandar Raza tries to take on one of the longest boundaries with a pull shot. He is caught easily by Rauf. Luke Jongwe, right handed bat, comes to the crease and plays on first ball! What a collapse this. Bradley Evans is the new man in. Wasim bowls a wide, looking for a leg stump yorker but gets his radar wrong. He bowls another wide! How much can Ryan Burl and Evans add to the tally? Just three runs and two wickets from it.

ZIM 95/5 v PAK in 14 overs: Shadab to bowl out. Shadab to Williams, who slog sweeps and is dropped by Iftikhar at deep-midwicket. To add insult to injury, ball races away for four. But Shadab gets his revenge off the fifth ball. Williams tries to play the reverse sweep but Shadab maintains a stump-to-stump line and Williams misses. He is castled. Next ball, Shadab gets Chakabva, who is caught at slip by Babar. 8 runs and 2 wickets.

ZIM 87/3 v PAK in 13 overs: Naseem Shah into the attack. Raza throws his hands at a wide ball and collects four from it. Much-needed four. Williams’ turn to collect a boundary as he swivels a pull to the fine leg fence. 1 to finish. 11 from the over. Second most expensive over so far.

ZIM 76/3 v PAK in 12 overs: Shadab into his third. Raza and Williams , two of Zimbabwe’s most experienced batters, will have to find a way to get Zimbabwe out of this rut. Pakistan bowlers have put a lid on the scoring rate, Just five singles from this over.

ZIM 71/3 v PAK in 11 overs: Rauf is back into the attack. Raza will be on strike. Rauf’s cranking it up here – pace and bounce. Four dots on the trot. Another dot. Rauf concedes 4 leg byes to end the over.

ZIM 67/3 v PAK in 10 overs: WICKET! Shadab strikes as Shumba offers a simple return catch. DRINKS! The in-form Sikandar Raza is in next. 6 runs and a wicket form it.

ZIM 61/2 v PAK in 9 overs: Shaheen into his third. Shumba pulls a short ball for four. Terrific hit off the front foot over wide long-on. Good awareness from the Zimbabwe batters as they steal an extra run after a ricochet off a direct hit on the fourth ball. DROPPED! Shumba gets a reprieve as Iftikhar Ahmed drops a catch inside the circle at midwicket. 8 from it.

ZIM 53/2 v PAK in 8 overs: Leg spinner Shadab Khan into action. Tidy start from Shadab, who goes for only four in his first. Sean Williams and Milton Shumba rebuilding. Just 15 runs from last four overs.

ZIM 49/2 v PAK in 7 overs:Here’s Shaheen Shah again. By the way, the 42-run opening stand was Zimbabwe’s second-highest opening stand at a T20 World Cup. Excellent comeback from Afridi. After an expensive first over, he comes back and bowls a two-run over. Zimbabwe’s momentum has been thwarted after those two wickets.

ZIM 47/2 v PAK in 6 overs: Wasim to bowl the final ball of the PowerPlay. Milton Shumba has joined Madhevere. Loud lbw appeal off the second ball. Not given. Wasim urges for a review and Babar obliges. Madhevere the batter. THREE REDS! Excellent review. Madhevere falls after a bright start. Sean Williams, the new man in, flashes at a short and wide ball and gets four. 5 runs and a wicket.

ZIM 42/1 v PAK in 5 overs: Haris Rauf into the attack. He has a slip in place. GONE! Rauf’s extra pace does the trick. Short ball at his body and Ervine is hurried into a pull. Wasim takes a good catch and Zimbabwe have lost a wicket. Four runs and a wicket.

ZIM 38/0 v PAK in 4 overs: Naseem gets a second inside the PowerPlay. Ervine drives down the ground for a couple. He pinches a single off the second ball. Wayward from Naseem so far, has bowled two wides in the over. He wraps up the over with a dot ball.

ZIM 31/0 v PAK in 3 overs: Here’s Muhammad Wasim into the attack. Ervine picks a single off the second ball. Madhevere steals a leg bye after missing a pull and being struck on the ribs. Wasim errs in line and length on the fifth ball, short and wide as Madhevere plays a flourishing cut behind square for four. Eight from the over.

ZIM 23/0 v PAK in 2 overs: Naseem Shah shares the new ball. Ervine greets him with a blistering drive for four. He follows it up with an exquisite flick for four more. Runs are flowing off the bat of Ervine. Single to end the over. Nine from it.

ZIM 14/0 v PAK in 1 over: Shaheen Afridi with the new ball. Ervine and Madhevere to open the batting. Madhevere collects three off the first ball. Ervine picks two off the second ball. There are two slips in place. A single to Ervine off the third. Madhevere pushes a full ball down the ground for four. Terrific timing and placement. Mere push. There’s an example of the lightening fast outfield. Madhevere follows it up with a brilliant cover drive for four. Expensive first over.

With India pocketing two more points, Pakistan desperately needs a win here. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, would look to cause an upset. Pakistan have picked an extra pacer in Wasim.

Toss Update: Zimbabwe has won the toss and elected to bat first. Tendai Chatara sits out for Brad Evans. Asif Ali makes way for Wasim.

India have beaten the Netherlands by 56 runs to go top of the points table.

We are less than 20 minutes away from toss. Over in Sydney, India is nearing a big win against the Netherlands.

FORM (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)

Pakistan LWWLW

Zimbabwe WLWWL

PAK VS ZIM HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD IN T20IS

Matches played: 17

Pakistan won: 16

Zimbabwe won: 1

Last result: Pakistan won by 24 runs (Harare; 2021)

Last five results: PAK won (4); ZIM won (1)

Highest score (PAK) vs ZIM: 198/4 (20) – (Harare; 2011)

Lowest score (PAK) vs ZIM: 99 (19.5) – (Harare; 2021)

Highest score (ZIM) vs PAK: 175/3 (20) – (Lahore; 2015)

Lowest score (ZIM) vs PAK: 108 (17.5) – (Harare; 2018)

FULL SQUADS

Pakistan Squad: Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Khushdil Shah, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Wasim Jr

Zimbabwe Squad: Regis Chakabva(w), Craig Ervine(c), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Wesley Madhevere, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani, Tony Munyonga, Wellington Masakadza, Brad Evans, Clive Madande, Richard Ngarava