expensive as he gave away 37 in three overs and went wicket-less.
Wahab Riaz grabbed two wickets in his four overs, conceding 38 runs.
Malik did well with the ball, conceding only 12 off his three overs and taking the wicket of Sean Williams.
Pakistan had not hosted any international cricket since terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009 forced international teams to refuse tours to Pakistan.
Strict security was put in place with 4,000 policemen on duty but that did not stop the cricket deprived fans to pack the 27,000 capacity stadium.
The second Twenty20 will be played on Sunday and will be followed by three One-day Internationals on May 26, 29 and 31 — all in Lahore.
Score Board
Zimbabwe won toss
Zimbabwe
H Masakadza b Sami 43
V Sibanda c Sarfraz b Sami 13
C K Coventry c Sarfraz b Wahab 14
*E Chigumbura b Wahab 54
S C Williams c Wahab b Shoaib 16
Sikandar Raza c Ahmed b Sami 17
†R Mutumbami not out 4
A G Cremer not out 2
Extras (lb 3, w 5, nb 1) 9
Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 172
Did not bat: T Panyangara, C B Mpofu, B V Vitori
Fall: 1-58, 2-58, 3-73, 4-100, 5-142, 6-168
Bowling: Anwar 3-0-18-0; Sami 4-0-36-3 (1w); Bilawal 3-0-37-0 (1nb); Wahab 4-0-38-2 (4w); Shahid 3-0-28-0; Shoaib 3-0-12-1
Pakistan
Mukhtar Ahmed c Mutumbami b Cremer 83
Ahmed Shehzad c Mutumbami b Williams 55
M Hafeez c Coventry b Cremer 12
Shoaib Malik b Panyangara 7
Umar Akmal c Sibanda b Vitori 4
†Sarfraz Ahmed not out 3
*Shahid Afridi not out 4
Extras (lb 5) 5
Total (5 wickets; 19.3 overs) 173
To bat: Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, M Sami, Wahab Riaz
Fall: 1-142, 2-144, 3-157, 4-162, 5-169
Bowling: Panyangara 2.3-0-28-1; Vitori 4-0-24-1; Mpofu 3-0-32-0; Williams 4-0-33-1; Cremer 4-0-28-2; Sikandar 2-0-23-0
Result: Pakistan won by 5 wickets
Series: Pakistan lead the 2-match series by 1-0
T20I debut: R Mutumbami (Zimbabwe)
Man of the Match: Mukhtar Ahmed (Pakistan)
Umpires: Ahsan Raza and Shozab Raza. TV umpire: Ahmed Shahab. Match referee: Azhar Khan