Pakistan vs Zimbabwe LIVE Score, 3rd ODI: Shafique’s half-century fireworks fizzle out early as the hosts claim the crucial wicket

Just as Abdullah Shafique was preparing to celebrate his 50th birthday, Zimbabwe halted the celebrations. Raza, the golden arm once again. A curved, full delivery that hit middle stump and twisted on landing.

Shafique, who advanced to sweep behind the square, misjudged the line and was trapped in front of the middle. The decision was easy for the referee. Shafique bows out after a solid 50 points, including 5 boundaries and a six.

Shafique LBW to Raza 50 (68) (4s-5, 6s-1).

Mohammad Rizwan comes to the goal area

And Shafique is capitalizing on it. A short throw from Muzarabani, and although the pull shot wasn’t timed perfectly, a fumble downfield sends the ball racing to the boundary. With this, Pakistan breached the 100-run mark with a strong performance from the batters.

Ghulam fires a powerful shot. A short delivery in the middle and end and he wastes no time. He rocks back deep into his crease and sends it with authority, soaring up deep mid-wicket for a massive six.

After a long wait, Zimbabwe finally drew first blood and got Saim Ayub out of the fold. The opening pair of Ayub and Abdullah Shafique had built a solid 50-run stand, showing resilience to Zimbabwe’s bowling changes.

Shafique was in good touch and hit a stylish boundary off Sikandar Raza, while Ayub kept the scoreboard ticking with a smart batting rotation. Although Faraz Akram did not allow frees in a difficult spell, Pakistan’s openers had laid a strong foundation before Zimbabwe broke through.

Kamran Ghulam comes to the goal area

Both Pakistan openers are solid in the crease and show great strength. Together they crossed the 50-run mark without losing a wicket. Ayub is unbeaten on 31* while Shafique is yet to be eliminated on 27*.

Exaggerated outside throw and Shafique makes no mistake. He takes a confident step forward with a full face and places it perfectly in the gap. He holds his pose for a moment, showing the elegance of the shot.

Muzarabani delivers a fuller ball looking for momentum but there is none. Shafique shoots the ball beautifully across the ground for FOUR and places it deep in the middle.

Muzarabani throws a short throw outside and Saim Ayub quickly assesses the length. He moves across his stumps, lifts his front leg and drives the ball beyond square leg, sending it to the boundary for FOUR.

Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique are at the goal area, Ayub is on strike. Raza opens the bowling attack. The players head to the middle and Zimbabwe will be hoping to avoid another wicketless performance after failing to take a single wicket in the previous game.

Mohammad Rizwan said: “We’ll bat first.” The pitch is the same as last game and things could get tough in the second inning. The way we give opportunities to young talent. We have our eyes on the Champions Trophy. “We’re going with the same team.”

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine says: “We probably would have bowled first.” It was quite difficult to read the conditions. There wasn’t much cricket played in the last game, so there won’t be too much change on the pitch. It will always be a mental game, what happened on Tuesday is in the past and you don’t want to dwell on it too much. We haven’t beaten Pakistan in an ODI series yet, it’s a great opportunity to create a piece of history. “We have two changes.”

Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Tadiwanashe Marumani, Joylord Gumbie, Dion Myers, Craig Ervine(c), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Brian Bennett, Clive Madande(f), Faraz Akram, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani

Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (w/c), Agha Salman, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Khan, Aamer Jamal, Haris Rauf, Faisal Akram, Abrar Ahmed

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first against Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe: Joylord Gumbie, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Craig Ervine (c), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Brian Bennett, Brandon Mavuta, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu, Faraz Akram, Clive Madande, Tashinga Musekiwa, Tinotenda Maposa .

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (c&wk), Agha Salman, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Khan, Aamer Jamal, Haris Rauf, Faisal Akram, Abrar Ahmed, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Shahnawaz Dahani, Ahmed Daniyal.

Pakistan led Zimbabwe 54-6 in 63 games. There was one game with a draw (1995, Harare) and one game with no result (2015, Lahore).

Unfortunately for Indian cricket fans, there will be no official live telecast of Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe 2024. However, fans in India can live stream the ODI matches via the FanCode app and website. Of course, you will also receive all updates directly here.

Hello everyone, everyone. Welcome to our live coverage of the 3rd ODI in Zimbabwe and Pakistan. Stay tuned for full match details, stats and updates as the action unfolds.