Tanvir takes the new ball. He bowls off the wrong foot and is very tricky to pick up for batsmen who have not seen much of him. Masakadza is off the mark with a three that he work off his legs. The line is a bit too straight as Sibanda now nudges two into the leg-side.
Zimbabwe won the toss and inserted the visitors. Pakistan got off to a shaky start, losing two early wickets. The constant stream of extra's kept the scoreboard ticking in the early overs and once a partnership occurred then Pakistan found themselves in a strong position. Shehzad was the star of the innings, scoring an attractive 70. The wicket is a bit slow and as a result the spinner were the most difficult to score off. Zimbabwe will struggle to get the impressive Pakistan spinners away and will do very well to get close to the target of 162.
Chatara bowls the final overs. Some desperate running by the Pakistan players still doesn't manage to get Afridi on strike. Ali connects with a short delivery and picks up his first boundary. The final delivery see's a huge swing and miss, leaving Pakistan on 161 after their allotted overs.
Boom Boom swings his willow and the ball races straight back bast Vetori for a boundary. The bowler has found a good full length and Afridi is batting with some maturity by playing it sensibly. The 150 comes up for the visitors.
WICKET. Masakadza misses his length and is launched down the ground, but long-on takes a very good catch to see the back of Shehzad. Anwar Ali is the new batsman. Apparently he can hit a long ball. Afrida finds somewhere near the middle of the bat and sends the ball sailing over the long-on boundary.
Vetori returns and is faced with a tough challenge. He looks to be targeting the block-hole. A poor piece of fielding on the ring gives away another run. Every single run could be important if this match gets close, as so often happens in T20 cricket. Shehzad finds the leg-side boundary to ruin what was a pretty decent over.
Chatara comes back and will be tasked with restricting the damage at the end of this innings. The wicket of Afridi would go a long way in completing his job. Shehzad opens his shoulders and clears the mid-wicket boundary.
Chigumbura is given another over after conceding 17 in his first. A single brings up the 100 for Pakistan. A very friendly short and slow delivery is clubbed over square-leg for six by Maqsood. WICKET. Maqsood lofts a drive straight over the bowler's head, but the long-off covers a lot of ground and completes a fine catch. Afridi walks to the crease and may cause some real damage. Shehzad slices a boundary through backward-point to bring up his 50.
Spin has been the most effective today as the ball has stuck in the wicket. Taylor has picked up on this and gives Williams another over. A poor short delivery is deal with by Shehzad, his cut shot gets the ball to the boundary rope in no time. Maqsood joins the party as he carves a boundary over point.
Masakadza starts another over with a slower-ball, but it is run down to third-man for three. The two Pakistan batsmen are running very well between the wickets, the outfielders need to be on their toes. There is now a very good platform set from which to launch.
Chigumbura joins the attack. His pace is far more familiar to Mazsood who clubs the first delivery for a six over mid-wicket. Shehzad joins the party as he gets down on one knee and laps consecutive boundaries down to fine-leg.
The Zimbabwe spinners are doing a great job for their team. Utseya bustles in for his last over. It has been a real struggle for Maqsood, but he finally gets off the mark.
Williams comes into the attack to bowl some slow left-arm. Shehzad is just starting to feel the pinch. He tries to be aggressive, but the bowlers delivers a tidy over.
WICKET. Utseya breaks the partnership which was starting to look dangerous. Amin top edges a sweep and the ball loops straight up before landing safely in Taylor's gloves. Maqsood, on debut, eats up three dot balls.
Masakadza continues, but he now has the security of a few boundary riders. A far better over with make the bowler feel a great deal better, but extra's are proving to be a real issue as another wide is delivered. The 50 comes up and the run rate is going the right way as far as Pakistan are concerned.
Utseya returns with some off-spin. A great piece of fielding on the straight boundary saves a certain boundary. The hosts will need to field well if they want to be competitive in this series.
Masakadza comes into the attack and like those before him, he starts with a wide. A long-hop at very gentle medium pace is pulled by Amin for the first boundary off the bat in this innings. The Pakistan batsmen seem to fancy Masakadza's pace. Shehzad skips down the wicket and crunches a boundary straight back past the bowler. The scoring rate increases nicely as the powerplay comes to an end.
Vetori starts his second over with a beautiful delivery that passes the outside edge of Amin's bat. If Zimbabwe can grab one or two more wickets then Pakistan will be under some real pressure. The wicket is a little slow and both batsmen are struggling to find any timing.
Chatara starts his second over with another wide. Zimbabwe have given away far too many extra's in the opening overs. WICKET. Chatara claim his second victim as Hafeez is caught behind, one-handed, by Taylor. This is turning out to be a very good start for the hosts.
Brian Vetori comes into the attack. He will have to lead the attack in the absence of Jarvis. The batsmen show Vetori a great deal of respect, allowing a cheap over to slip by.
Tendai Chatara shares the new ball. He starts with a wide but also settles down, finding a decent area. The first boundary comes in the form of leg-byes as Chatara strays down the leg-side. WICKET. Another loose leg-side delivery is clipped by Jamshed straight to short fine-leg where a simple catch is completed. The skipper is the new man in the middle.
Zimbabwe open the bowling with off-spinner Utseya. The first delivery is dragged down and Shehzad is underway with a couple through the covers. The bowler finds his length after a nervous first ball and concedes just five runs.
Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan. The big news is that Sohaib Maqsood makes his debut. Captain Hafeez says that his side are very confident and they are using this tour to give opportunities to young players such as Maqsood.
H Masakadza, V Sibanda, BRM Taylor, T Maruma, SC Williams, MN Waller, E Chigumbura, P Utseya, TL Chatara, SW Masakadza, BV Vitori.
The pitch looks dry and has a few cracks, but should hold together for the 40 overs. 160 appears to be the par score according to the locals.
Zimbabwe have won the toss and decide to bowl first.
Hello and welcome to the first T20 between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at the Harare Sports Club, where the hosts will hope their pre-series disruptions won't affect them too much.