After all the promise of a competitive ODI series, the T20Is have been something of a damp squib. Pakistan brought their top form to both weekend games, and illustrated the chasm that evidently exists between a Pakistani side that’s rapidly improving and a Zimbabwean unit that needs improvement desperately. teams As you might expect, if these two teams simply go through the motions, Pakistan will nearly always emerge on top and do so with relative comfort.
If anything, the hosts may be slightly disappointed they weren’t challenged further to be able to assess how well some of the youngsters afforded opportunities this series would fare in that scenario. Haider Ali and Usman Qadir have both excelled, but they could have been undergoing net sessions for all the intensity of the contest. Haris Rauf‘s pace has been enough to get him a cluster of wickets, but he may have to demonstrate more nuanced skills against more competitive opponents. And while Babar Azam has scored two sumptuous half-centuries, you wouldn’t expect any less of him against the quality of bowling he has faced; if anything, his frustration must centre on a failure to remain at the crease to knock off the winning runs. Pakistan have just turned up and not more, and so far, it’s been more than enough.
Much of that is down to Zimbabwe. The visitors haven’t come close to a level of performance they will believe they are capable of. In two of the three ODIs, Zimbabwe pushed themselves to the limit. But in the T20Is, even the in-form batsmen have floundered, while with the ball and in the field, Chamu Chibhabha‘s side has been – at best – lacklustre.
You could level more scathing criticism at Chibhabha himself, who arguably shouldn’t be anywhere near this side based on his numbers over the past several years. When a frontline batsman who averages 13.24 over the past four years leads the side out on a challenging tour, it is of little surprise if he returns just 34 runs in five innings. It’s a level of performance that’s unacceptable for any international side whatever the ranking, and when the middle order doesn’t bail Zimbabwe out – as on Sunday – they fall apart alarmingly quickly.
