Mohammad Rizwan scored half-century in T20 win over Zimbabwe

Mohammad Rizwan scored half-century in T20 win over Zimbabwe.

Mohammad Rizwan scored an undefeated half-century when Pakistan defeated host Zimbabwe by 11 runs in the first Twenty20 International at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday.

Rizwan played a lone hand for his team with 82 not eliminated, as they scored 149 of seven in their 20 overs. The home team, who have not qualified for the T20 World Cup in India later this year, and were only able to achieve 138 out of seven in response.

After being sent to bat, Pakistan’s innings were dominated by Rizwan, who all 82 unbeaten came from 61 balls. No one else scored more than 15, with Wesley Madhevere, the supporting player, picking the bowling attack at home with 2-11 from two overs.

Craig Ervine scored the top scorer in Zimbabwe’s response with 34 but went off against Usman Qadir (3-29), who also claimed key entry from local captain Sean Williams (9). Usman is the son of former Pakistani great player Abdul Qadir and made his recent series debut in South Africa.

Zimbabwe did not have their most experienced hitter Brendan Taylor, who withdrew from the game with a stomach problem. The second game of the three-game series will be played at the same venue on Friday. Limited overs matches will be followed by two tests.