Pakistan knock hosts Zim out of T20I series

Harare: Pakistan knocked Zimbabwe out of the Twenty20 tri-series in Harare in a closely-fought encounter on Wednesday, beating the hosts by seven wickets with five deliveries to spare.

Opener Fakhar Zaman top-scored for Pakistan with 47 before captain Sarfraz Ahmed overcame a spirited Zimbabwean fightback and saw his side home with an unbeaten 38.

Their efforts meant that Zimbabwean all-rounder Solomon Mire's bellicose earlier innings earlier went in vain.

Mire struck 94, the

highest score by a Zimbabwean in Twenty20 internationals, but Zimbabwe's 162 for

4 was not enough to overcome the world's top-ranked

T20 side.

Zaman said Pakistan was always confident they could pull off a successful chase.

"We have a very deep batting line-up, so we were confident we could chase it," he said.

Pakistan given a rapid start by Zaman and fellow opener Haris Sohail, who took 56 from the Powerplay.

Sohail holed out soon afterwards, but Zaman continued to show the sort of touch that made him vital to Pakistan's successful Champions Trophy run last year.

Mixing aggression with an ability to manoeuvre the ball around the field, he cracked four fours and a six.

The tactic spoke volumes about his development as a limited overs batsman.

"In the start in T20 I

was hitting every ball in my striking zone, but after playing eight to 10 games I

sat with some senior players like Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed, and spoke about my gameplans with them," Zaman explained.