BULAWAYO: Zimbabwe shattered Pakistan’s hopes of a series whitewash as they defeated the guests by two wickets yesterday in the final T20I at Queens Sports Club.

Debutant Tinotenda Maposa backed his bowling figures of 1/12 with a match-winning cameo of 12 not out to power Zimbabwe to the consolation victory.  The home side had a flying start to the run chase as they were 73/1 in 9.3 overs with opening batter Brian Bennet and Dion Myers at the crease. Emerging spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, however, provided the visitors with a vital breakthrough, dismissing set batter Bennet, who remained the top-scorer for Zimbabwe with a 35-ball 43, laced with seven boundaries including a six. His dismissal sparked a middle-order collapse, which saw the home side slipping to 94/5 in 14 overs.

Skipper Sikandar Raza offered some resistance against a momentum-filled Pakistan’s bowling effort until his dismissal off Jahandad Khan in the 18th over. Abbas Afridi, who returned match-winning figures of 3/23, inflicted another dent to Zimbabwe’s pursuit by getting rid of Wellington Masakadza (six). The hosts then needed 12 off the final over with Maposa on strike. The right-handed batter smashed Jahandad Khan for a four and a six on the first two deliveries of the decisive over, which eventually proved enough to lead Zimbabwe to a narrow two-wicket victory. Opting to bat first, the touring side could only accumulated 132/7 in the allotted 20 overs despite skipper Salman Ali Agha’s 32-run knock. Pakistan had a dismal start to their innings as young opener Omair Bin Yousuf perished for a golden duck on the second delivery of the second over with just four runs on the board. The Green Shirts lost two more wickets in quick succession and had consequently slipped to 19/3 in four overs.

Emerging middle-order batter Tayyab Tahir briefly bolstered the team’s total with a brisk cameo, which lasted in the eighth over with the scoreboard reading 52/4 in 7.4 overs. Tahir struck two fours and a six on his way to a 14-ball 21.