Another monumental batting collapse from the Chevrons saw Zimbabwe throw away the first T20I cricket match against Pakistan to lose by 57 runs at Queens Sports Club yesterday.
After 10 overs and chasing a target of 166, Zimbabwe were on 87/3 before an embarrassing collapse saw them crumble to 108 all out in 15,3.
The Chevrons only scored 31 runs for seven wickets in 5,3 overs as wickets continuously fell in clusters.
Zimbabwe had restricted Pakistan to 165/4 in 20 overs to set the stage for a competitive contest.
Chevrons assistant coach, who also doubles as batting coach, Dion Ebrahim said they had a discussion on how to approach the game but the trend of losing wickets in clusters continues to hurt them.
"It hurts. We truly believed we were capable of winning especially at the halfway mark. We played Pakistan in the one-day series so we knew the challenges that they were going to throw at us.
"As a batting unit, we discussed at length game plans, strategy, style of play, and how to approach these situations.
"The trend that we have seen over the last four games, including the one-day games, is that we get ourselves in a good platform and foundation.
"But, in key moments, we keep losing an unfortunate wicket whether it be by poor decision-making or just a bit of bad luck. We saw that again in the one-day series. In T20, in particular, the momentum is so critical and those little moments where we lost momentum and with a bowling unit like what Pakistan has, once you lose the momentum, to regain it requires risk-taking.
"The accuracy of what risk to take and when, were a little bit off today. So those are the learnings that we have to learn," said Ebrahim.
Sikandar Raza was Zimbabwe's most economical bowler as he went for 14 runs in his four overs. He also had one wicket to his name.
The other wicket-takers were Wellington Masakadza who finished with figures of 1/23 in three overs, Ryan Burl who registered figures of 1/27 in three overs, and Richard Ngarava who finished with figures of 1/41 in four overs.
A 65-run fifth-wicket partnership between Tayyab Tahir and Irfan Khan helped Pakistan reach a decent 165-run score at the end of their innings.
At the time the two came in to bat, Pakistan were on 100/4 in 14,2 overs and had just lost the wicket of Sal-man Agha.
Tahir top scored for the visitors with 39 runs not out off 25 balls while Khan finished unbeaten on 27 runs from 15 deliveries.
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Saim Ayub chipped in with 24 runs after facing 18 balls.
Zimbabwe had a poor start to their chase as they lost two wickets in quick succession.
Brian Bennett and Dion Myers fell within three balls of each other in the third over, leaving the Chevrons on 18/2 in 2,5 overs.
Raza and Tadiwanashe Marumani went on to bring stability to the innings with a 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Muramani, looking set, was run out for 33 runs off 20 balls leaving Zimbabwe on 77/3 in 8,2 overs. Ten runs later, the Chevrons lost Ryan Burl for three runs as the collapse began.
The next wicket to fall was Clive Madande in the 12th over which left Zimbabwe on 92/5. The hosts only added three runs before another wicket fell, which was the big one for Raza.
Wellington Masakadza and Ngarava were the next to fall with their wickets leaving Zimbabwe on 102/8. Blessing Muzarabani fell in over 14,3 with the hosts on 107/9. The last wicket that was taken was Trevor Gwandu.
Raza top-scored for the Chevrons with 39 runs off 28 balls. Only him and Marumani, who made 33 runs, man-aged to cross double figures. Sufiyan Muqeem finished with figures of 3/20 in four overs for Pakistan. Abrar Ahmed also claimed three scalps for 28 runs in 3,3 overs while Haris Rauf took two for 17 runs in three overs. Jahandad Khan took the other wicket.
The second match is scheduled for tomorrow at the same venue and will be a must-win game for Zimbabwe who will be looking to level the series.
The game starts at 1.30pm.
