Look at the crowd in Gaddafi Stadium 60 thousands plus people watching this match Pak vs zim.
The occasion of international cricket's return to Pakistan was made
merrier by the opening pair of Mukhtar Ahmed and Ahmed Shehzad as they
tore into and broke down Zimbabwe's challenging 172 for 6, to ensure the
side, playing at home after six years, won by five wickets.
Their 142-run stand equalled the opening partnership between Salman Butt
and Kamran Akmal against Bangladesh in the 2010 World T20 but the one
at the Gaddafi Stadium will be counted as more special. The March 2009
attack on the Sri Lanka team bus, outside this very cricket stadium, had
taken international cricket away from them.
The full house was fully entertained by the newcomer Mukhtar, who made
83 off 45 balls. His dozen boundaries were hit off a bowling attack
which lacked a leader and a strong attacker but Mukhtar did what he had
to do. He was severe on everything straight and on his legs, nine of his
12 fours coming through fine-leg, midwicket and long-on. He reached 50
off 34 balls and left the more recognised Shehzad far behind.
Shehzad didn't miss out though, getting to his fifty in the 12th over.
He struck some brutal hits down the ground but was generous enough to
let Mukhtar do all the hitting. The pair fell in consecutive overs -
Shehzad gave a catch to point, while Mukhtar hit straight to long-on -
but the crowd was fully entertained for one hour by the pair.
After the Mukhtar-Shehzad partnership, Pakistan lost three more wickets
before captain Shahid Afridi struck a straight boundary to complete the
win with three balls to spare.
The start of the evening, too, will remain memorable. The crowd started
to enter the stadium more than two hours before the first ball and it
was a full house when Shahid Afridi and Elton Chigumbura strode out to
the toss, held seven minutes earlier as the Pakistan president Mamnoon
Hussain met with both squads. Afridi gave one last pep talk before the
hosts raced to the turf.
The first ball was a fuller length delivery from Anwar Ali that crashed
into Hamilton Masakadza's pad. The pace bowler didn't appeal, but an
appeal wouldn't have been out of place given the drama of the occasion.
Masakadza then got to work with a string of boundaries but he failed to
keep the crowd's noise down. A gap of six years for an international
game kept them animated even as they fanned themselves with the four and
six placards.
Masakadza got seven fours and a six in his 27-ball 43, cutting,
lap-sweeping and forcing fours through point, midwicket, fine-leg and
mid-off. His only six was a high pull off Bilawal Bhatti over square-leg
in the third over. Vusi Sibanda was nondescript at the other end with
13 off 15 balls.
Their 58-run stand ended in the seventh over when Sibanda top-edged
Mohammad Sami for 13 and next ball, Pakistan's comeback man - playing
his first international match since July 2012 - got Masakadza to
inside-edge on to the stumps. The noise was at a maximum but despite
that, and the regular wickets, their fielding errors slightly blotted
the occasion. A few outfielders dived over the ball, Sarfraz missed two
stumpings, including that of Chigumbura when he was on eight, and Riaz
dropping a skier off his own bowling.
Charles Coventry, another comeback story of the day, was given
caught-behind though TV replays showed the ball appeared to hit his
bicep on the way to the wicketkeeper. Chigumbura, meanwhile, kept the
pace set by Masakadza with timely boundaries. Zimbabwe's tally of 58 in
the last five overs was mostly his doing.
Chigumbura's late onslaught began with a top-edged four off Bhatti
before fours were squeezed past point and inside-edged. He added blasts
over point, midwicket and extra cover off Riaz's third over before
flicking Sami's full-toss to reach his second T20 fifty, making 54 off
35 balls.
Sikandar Raza struck a high six over midwicket before falling in the
17th over but he helped Chigumbura add 42 for the fifth wicket in just
4.2 overs.
Malik was the most economical bowler with 1 for 12 from three overs
while Sami took 3 for 36. Riaz finished with two wickets but he was too
wayward for a bowler leading the attack.
Zimbabwe's bowlers too were poor for most of the Pakistan innings,
though Cremer looked happy with his two wickets while Williams and Brian
Vitori took one wicket apiece.
For the fans and the team, it was a joyous occasion, a chance to cherish
a match played in their home. International cricket in Pakistan came to
a halt in Lahore and it is here that Zimbabwe's tour got underway, with
a win for the home team
