Wahab Riaz struck a belligerent 54 with the bat to give Pakistan a total that it could defend, and then combined with Mohammad Irfan (4 for 30) to scuttle Zimbabwe as Misbah-ul-Haq’s team got its ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 campaign off the ground with a 20-run victory at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday (March 1). Misbah’s 120-ball 73 had held the innings together, and the bowlers were good enough to get the result.
For long periods with ball and bat, Zimbabwe had controlled the game, but a combination of faulty shot selection and exceptional bowling in the Batting Power Play from Wahab and Irfan tilted the game decisively in Pakistan’s favour.
Defending just 235, new-ball wickets were imperative, and Irfan duly provided them on a fast and bouncy pitch perfectly suited to his methods. The steepling bounce he got accounted for both Chamu Chibhabha and Sikandar Raza, one unable to get his bat out of the way and the other unable to control a cut. Haris Sohail took both chances with nonchalant ease at second slip, leaving Zimbabwe 22 for 2 in the seventh over.
Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza dragged Zimbabwe back into the contest with a 52-run stand. Taylor played some lovely drives and an astonishing ramp shot over the ‘keeper off Wahab, while Masakadza muscled the ball around. Needing wickets, Misbah once again turned to Irfan.
It took him just two balls to strike, as Masakadza miscued a loft to mid-off, where Misbah watched a steepler all the way down into his hands. Sean Williams started fluently, with two fours in an Irfan over, but was also given a reprieve when an attempted cut off Afridi was put down behind the stumps with the batsman on 11.