Published: Sep 10, 2013, 04:01 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 10, 2013, 04:01 PM (IST)
Hamilton Masakadza provided much-needed positivity to the Zimbabwean batting which went into a nutshell thanks to some accurate bowling by Junaid Khan and Rahat Ali © AFP
Sep 10, 2013
Zimbabwe made a slow start reaching 65 for the loss of two wickets at lunch on Day One against Pakistan at Harare. Hamilton Masakadza provided the much-needed stability remaining unbeaten on 43 along with skipper Brendan Taylor (3).
Playing his last Test for Zimbabwe skipper Taylor will be aiming to end on a high. Amid concerns of an underprepared pitch after the venue for the second Test was shifted to Harare, Taylor won the toss and elected to bat.
Junaid Khan provided the breakthrough in the second ball of the morning. The delivery pitched outside leg stump, brushed past the right-hander Tino Mawoyo and the umpire accepted the appeal. The replays though showed the ball going past the thigh pad of Mawoyo.
Vusi Sibanda along with new batsman Masakadza then adopted a cautious approach crawling along. Sibanda was finally dismissed going for an aggressive stroke on the leg-side. The ball nicked the bottom edge of the bat and disturbed the stumps.
Immediately after both openers were back in the pavilion, skipper Misbah-ul-Haq introduced Saeed Ajmal who got some handy purchase from the wicket straight away. Rahat Ali and Junaid Khan were equally impressive from the start forcing the batsman to retreat into a nutshell.
Masakadza’s positive intent did provide some impetus to the slow batting. Despite having a second spinner in the form of Abdur Rehman, Mibshah provided a window for Younis Khan to roll his arms in the pre-lunch session.
If Zimbabwe have to pose a challenge to the formidable bowling attack, Taylor and Masakadza will have to steady the innings with a much more positivity from both ends.
Brief scores:
Zimbabwe 65 for 2 (Hamilton Masakadza 43*; Junaid Khan 1 for 20, Rahat Ali 1 for 10) vs Pakistan
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan — Live on Ten Cricket
