still captaining his regional side, Sialkot Stallions, and led them to the T20 title this month. He himself finished as the third leading scorer at an average of 61.55 in five matches. “Before coming into the series I was playing in Faisalabad in domestic T20 where I played couple of good innings and that actually gave me the flow and confidence. Now I would like to keep it going and be consistent with my form.”
Recalling his two years in the wilderness he said: “There has been an obvious disappointment but as a professional you always look for opportunity and you have to perform to get their attention. At the end of the day, it’s selectors’ prerogative to pick me or not as it’s up to them to pick whatever they require fitting in for their combination. Everyone set goals for themselves ... I have some plans to contribute as a team and individually comes later.”
Score Board
Pakistan won toss
Pakistan
M Hafeez b Utseya 86
*Azhar Ali c Panyangara b Utseya 79
Shoaib Malik c Masakadza b Panyangara 112
Haris Sohail not out 89
Extras (b 4, lb 1, w 3, nb 1) 9
Total (3 wickets; 50 overs) 375
Did not bat: †Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Hammad Azam, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah
Fall: 1-170, 2-174, 3-375
Bowling: Panyangara 10-0-75-1 (1nb); Vitori 10-1-77-0; Mpofu 10-0-70-0 (3w); Williams 5-0-42-0; Utseya 10-0-63-2; Sikandar 5-0-43-0
Zimbabwe
V Sibanda c & b Riaz 23
Sikandar Raza c Hafeez b Anwar 36
H Masakadza c Hammad b Malik 73
*E Chigumbura b Wahab Riaz 117
S C Williams c Sarfraz b Riaz 36
†R Mutumbami not out 21
P Utseya not out 21
Extras (lb 2, w 5) 7
Total (5 wickets; 50 overs) 334
Did not bat: C R Ervine, C B Mpofu, T Panyangara, B V Vitori
Fall: 1-56, 2-65, 3-189, 4-263, 5-293
Bowling: Sami 7-0-63-0; Anwar 10-0-81-1(1w); Riaz 10-0-47-3(2w); Hammad 5-0-29-0(1w); Yasir 6-0-35-0; Hafeez 8-0-44-0; Malik 4-0-33-1
Result: Pakistan won by 41 runs
Series: Pakistan led the 3-match series 1-0
Man of the Match: Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)
Umpires: Aleem Dar and R B Tiffin (Zimbabwe). Match referee: Azhar Khan