Bengaluru, March 14: Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in a rain-affected Group A 2011 ICC World Cup encounter at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium today. Chasing a Duckworth/Lewis target of 162 from 38 overs, the Pakistan batsmen pulled off the run chase with seven wickets and 23 deliveries to spare.
It was Zimbabwe who batted first after winning the toss. But Abdul Razzaq and Umar Gul immediately made Zimbabwe pay for that decision by sending back three of their top order batsmen with the score at a mere 13 runs in 5.2 overs. It was only due to a plucky half-century from Craig Ervine (52) and an unbeaten 32 from Elton Chigumbura that Zimbabwe managed a score of 151 for seven in 39.4 overs.
But this was after rain had interrupted Zimbabwe’s innings in the 28th over, which halted the game for about 90 minutes. And rain returned to close the innings prematurely, setting Pakistan a modest target of 162 from 38 overs.
Ahmed Shehzad (8) and Shahid Afridi (3) were the only two Pakistan batsmen to get out cheaply as Mohammad Hafeez (49) and Asad Shafiq (78*) steered Pakistan to the victory target with consummate ease. For Zimbabwe Ray Price took two wickets while Prosper Utseya took the wicket of Hafeez to deny the opener his half-century.
Pakistan, who suffered a thrashing at the hands of New Zealand in their previous game, are now placed second behind the Kiwis in Group A while Zimbabwe occupy the fifth position in the same group.
Brief scores: Pakistan 164 for 3 in 34.1 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 49, Asad Shafiq 78*, Ray Price 2/21) beat Zimbabwe 151 for 7 in 39.4 overs (Craig Ervine 52, Umar Gul 3/36) by seven wickets (D/L method)
Man-of-the-match: Umar Gul for his incisive bowling figures of 7.4-1-36-3
