Once again Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium was at its full capacity, with the likes of Imran Khan were also in attendance to support the national team, on an occasion which looked like bigger than anything else.
The Pakistan team lived up to the expectations to wrap-up the two-match T20 series with a thrilling two-wicket win over Zimbabwe. It was as close as it could get, as the hosts managed to score 12 runs off last over to clinch the encounter.
Bilawal Bhatti showcased his batting prowess when required to score the winning runs in the concluding over, with two balls to spare. Mukhtar Ahmed also played well and ended up with a scorching half-century.
Pakistan could have been clinical in the chase, after a solid start they got from Ahmed Shehzad and Ahmed, but they lost way in the middle. Zimbabwe ripped through Pakistan’s middle-order, but failed to deliver the final punch.
“We were fifth (in the rankings) and remained fifth,” Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said. “We were expecting that we would win this but never thought of such tight matches.”
“We might have won but without the sense of jubilation. We are a better team than this. We actually have to improve a lot and the middle order and should have to take responsibility, so I can say that it didn’t delight me.”
“A win is a win and I am proud of my boys but definitely there are quite a few loopholes which we have to fix, but overall if you ask honestly I am not satisfied because we are better than this and should have performed well and won it more convincingly.”
Zimbabwe, meanwhile, would be feeling gutted by losing the T20 series, despite playing good cricket in both matches. They batted quite well, but their bowling was not par to defend a competitive total in both the games.
