Monthly International Cricket Round Up.

Zimbabwe vs Pakistan- T20I Series. 

Result- Pakistan win 2-0

Image// ESPN

 There had been quite some cricket between these two nations, when the African minnows, Zimbabwe, toured Pakistan and thereby helped cricket return to their nation after six long years.  Just after a few months it was Pakistan, who after an emphatically successful stint against Sri Lanka in their den reciprocated the favour by touring Zimbabwe. They clean sweeped the t20 series crushing the minnows two-nil. While Zimbabwe had a decent squad they were put up to compete against a Pakistan side with a mixture of both high experience and its contrary.

Shahid Afridi returned to leading the side and the first t20 saw young Imad Wasim emerge for Pakistan claiming 4 wickets.  Chasing a target of a 137 put up by Pakistan, with Shoaib Malik (35) top scoring, the Zimbabweans faltered, managing just a 123 for 9 with skipper Chigumbura being the highest scorer, as Pakistanis won by 13 runs.

The second match too went through in a similar fashion with Pakistan yet again setting up a target of a 137 with some blows by Umar Akmal. Zimbabwe this time though looked to be a bit more settled with Sean William finding rhythm with the bat. However regular fall of wickets on the other end made matters worse as Pakistan triumphed by 15 runs and thus clinched the series.

Zimbabwe vs Pakistan- ODI Series.

Result: Pakistan won 2-1

Image// ESPN

After winning series continuously for few months at a stretch, the Pakistan team was completely on a 

roll. They initiated their tour of Zimbabwe with yet another series win in the shortest format and came into the three-match ODI series with an intention of exploiting the hosts further. It did happen so as Pakistan eventually triumphed but it came with a ‘twist in the tale’ as the series result went down to the third match after Zimbabwe and Pakistan had won one each.

In the first match Pakistan won by a mammoth margin of 131 runs. Pakistan put up 259 on the board in 50 overs, with Mohammad Rizwan remaining unbeaten at 75 and Imad Wasim (61) being the other high scorer. Chasing 260 would have been far from easy for the Zimbabweans and they made it look worse, batting literally in a stagnant manner as they never seemed to be going in the entire 37 overs they batted.  The highest individual score was that of 26 by Sean Wlliams as the Pakistan bowlers made inroads into their batting line up tearing it apart. Yasir Shah bagged as many as 6 wickets capuring a lot of attention, while Shoaib Malik also earned 3 scalps to his name.  

The second match finally had something instore for the hosts as they just managed to slide past the visitors. Batting first, they put up a much solid batting performance amassing 276 runs, wherein Chamu Chibhabha (90) and skipper Chigumbara (67) played the pivotal role.  Chasing the target, Pakistan had faltered to 76/6 at one stage and were staring at a huge defeat, but Shoaib Mallik and Aamer Yamin reconstructed the innings with blistering individual scores of 96* and 62 respectively in a 111 run stand.  However the case came down to ‘so near yet so far’ as they lost an absolute thriller by 5 runs owing to the D/L Method.

The fate of the series came down to the decider, where Zimbabwe started showing an intent with the openers Chibhabha and Mutumbami having a 89 run stand but after that it was only a havoc caused by Bilal Asif who sent the remaining batsmen for single digits, claiming 5 scalps. Chasing 162 was all what Pakistan needed to do, and they did accomplish it, very comfortably in 34 overs only and won the contest by 7 wickets.

India vs South Africa- T20I Series.

Results: South Africa won 2-0

A 72-day long South African tour of India, kicked off with a three match Twenty20 series. With the ICC T20 World Cup in the hindsight, both the dominant sides in the world cricket went head to head with an anticipation of a series with fireworks. It did happen, but all in the Proteas favour as they excelled and the hosts were left with innumerable questions to be answered and resolved. 

The first t20 was played on the ideal batting conditions of the scenic Dharamsala ground, and witnessed Rohit Sharma register a century in the shortest format of the game. Once he was settled, there was no stopping him, and India were expected to go way beyond 200 at the close of 20 overs. However losing wickets consecutively and at the wrong times, the Indians were restricted to a 199. Dew being on the cards, played an instrumental role, and South Africans were lucky for the toss turned on their side. Both openers for the Proteas played their role, and AB de Villiers even went on to register a half century. India on the other hand could manage only 3 wickets as the South Africans were led to the victory by JP Duminy who was unbeaten for 68 out of merely 34 balls.

Image// Cricket NDTV

The second match saw India being completely outplayed as the South Africans pushed for perfection, adding insult to injury to the hosts after the first loss. Put into bat, all that India could contrive was a meager total of 92, with Albie Morkel being the star bowler claiming three scalps. The South Africans chased it down with ease with JP Duminy yet again remaining not out with a score of 30. 

The last match, to be played at the Eden Gardens Kolkata was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to wet outfield. The Proteas thus fired and demolishes the men In Blue in their own den winning the series two-nil.

Zimbabwe vs Ireland- ODI Series.

Result: Zimbabwe won 2-1

After losing to Pakistan in the T20I and ODI series, Zimbabwe finally had something to cheer about. They hosted Ireland tis time and managed to go past them. Though the series was not that much in highlight, the two wins would have been a relieve for Zimbabwe.

The first match saw Sikandar Raza and Craig Ervine step up as both scored 60 runs each in a chase of 220 runs. Earlier Ireland posted 219 runs on the board with keeper Wilson scoring 70 runs and Ed Joyce too registering a fifty. Zimbabwe could have ended on the losing side has they lost any more wickets. However they steered home safely with an over to spare.

The second match brought a much more comfortable win for Zimbabwe as yet again while chasing and this time a bigger total of 269, they won by 5 wickets and 9 balls to spare. Stirling (72), Niall O Brien (50), Gary Wilson (65) were the highest scorers but in vain as Zimbabweans had Ervine display his heroics yet again as  he registered a century and remained unbeaten to take his team home.

The last ODI was a dead rubber, but Ireland managed to take a win back home. Tim Murtagh took 4 wickets helping the Irish bowl out the hosts for 187. Zimbabweans faltered and fell in a pack of cards losing their last 6 wickets in just 29 runs. The story began in a similar fashion for Ireland who could have faced another humiliating defeat but the tail enders held their nerves to take their team towards the total with Wilson and Kevin O'Brien giving contribution earlier in the innings.

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