BULAWAYO: Sufiyan Muqeem claimed bowling figures of 5-3 to help Pakistan take an unassailable 2-0 lead against Zimbabwe with a ten-wicket victory in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Queens Sports Club here on Tuesday.
Muqeem, while playing his seventh match, ripped Zimbabwe’s batting line-up apart, bundling them for 57, which is their lowest total in T20I cricket.
Pakistan, on the other hand, while chasing a 58-run total, completed a ten-wicket victory in 5.3 overs with Saim Ayub and Omair Bin Yousuf scoring 36* and 22* respectively.
Earlier, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza opted to bat first after winning the toss, but the decision backfired as their batters posed no threat to the ruthless bowling attack of Pakistan.
The hosts got a decent start though as opening batters Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani stitched a 37-run stand in 4.3 overs. However, Abbas Afridi dismissed Marumani, who was playing on 16 off 14, to break the partnership.
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Meanwhile, Bennett fell prey to Haris Rauf in the next over after scoring 21 runs from 14 balls with the help of three boundaries and one six.
This opened the floodgates as Zimbabwe’s batting line-up collapsed dramatically, losing their remaining eight wickets for only 20 runs with Muqeem taking five of them.
Sikandar Raza (3) and Dion Myers (3) were removed by Afridi and Salman Ali Agha respectively before Muqeem wreaked havoc.
The left-arm wrist-spinner Ryan Burl (1) and Tashinga Musekiwa (0) on consecutive deliveries in his first over, followed by the wickets of Wellington Masakadza (3) and Richard Ngarava (0) in his next over.
Sufiyan Muqeem completed his five-fer with the final wicket of Clive Madande (9) to skittle Zimbabwe for 57 in 12.4 overs.