Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 69 runs in Rawalpindi in the ongoing tri-series despite Ryan Burl’s unbeaten 67. The result pushed Zimbabwe’s clean run down and kept Sri Lanka in contention for the final. Pakistan secured their place in the final after winning their first three matches.Pakistan posted 195, led by Babar Azam’s 74 and Sahibzada Farhan’s 63. Usman Tariq’s second-innings hat-trick knocked Zimbabwe out of the contest. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 126. Their top-order structure meant they needed a strong start as they chased 196, but early risks led to quick wickets. Tadiwanashe Marumani chipped a simple catch to cover point off Naseem Shah and Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor were dismissed soon after.Burl and Sikandar Raza added 34 runs and offered brief resistance. Once Tariq completed his hat-trick, Burl was left to bat alone from one end.
Babar Azam equals Virat Kohli’s record
Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam scored his 38th T20I half-century in this match, joining Virat Kohli on the list for most fifties in the format. Babar reached the mark in 127 innings while Kohli did it in 117 innings. Virat Kohli retired from international T20 teams after winning the T20 world cup last year. Most fifties in T20Is38 – Virat Kohli (117 innings)38 – Babar Azam (127 innings)*32 – Rohit Sharma (151 innings)30 – Mohammad Rizwan (93 innings)28 – David Warner (110 innings)28 – Jos Buttler (132 innings)
