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Zimbabwe squandered a good start in the 2nd ODI against Pakistan - Hamilton Masakadza (87) and Tatenda Taibu (81) put on a 3rd-wicket stand of 137 to put Zim in a good position, but once again the batting collapsed as the Pakistanis ripped through the tail, led by Sohail Tanvir's 4/34. Brendan Taylor was the only other batsman to put up a fight, but even he only managed 26, while the rest of the side failed to reach double figures. Zim finished their allotted overs on 238/6, leaving Pakistan requiring 239 at 4.78/over.

Bowling, Zimbabwe have one major problem as captain Prosper Utseya has had to leave the field with a hamstring injury, leaving the side missing one of their best bowlers. Nasir Jamshed also signalled his intent to carry on from where he left off in the first ODI, and powered his way to 74 before being run out. Without Utseya's knack of controlling the middle overs, it was left to Ray Price to take the lead, and with 1/21 from his 10 overs he certainly did his part - but once Price and Brent completed their overs, the lack of experience in some of the other bowlers was exposed and Pakistan, who at one stage were only just keeping up with the required rate, were able to finish off the match with time to spare.

Zim will be able to take some positives from this match - they were certianly competitive in it - but the failure of the lower-order batsmen to contribute, combined with the loss of Utseya, made sure they weren't going to win it.
Zimbabwe 238/8 (50 overs; Masakadza 87, Sohail Tanvir 4/34), Pakistan 239/5 (46.2 overs; Nasir Jamshed 74, Price 1/21). Pakistan win by 5 wickets, lead series 2-0 with 3 to play.

Next match: 3rd ODI in Multan, 27 January 2008. Scorecard below the cut.

Zimbabwe innings (50 overs maximum)
V Sibanda	c Kamran Akmal b Sohail Tanvir	        9
H Masakadza	b Shahid Afridi	                        87
CJ Chibhabha	c Misbah-ul-Haq b Sohail Tanvir	        0
T Taibu	        c Kamran Akmal b Sohail Tanvir	        81
BRM Taylor	c Shoaib Malik b Sohail Tanvir	        26
E Chigumbura	c Younis Khan b Shoaib Malik	        1
SC Williams	c sub (Fawad Alam) b Iftikhar Anjum	3
S Matsikenyeri	b Iftikhar Anjum	                1
P Utseya	not out	                                6
GB Brent	not out	                                13
    Extras	(lb 3, w 8 )	                        11
    Total	(8 wickets; 50 overs)	                238

Did not bat: RW Price 

Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Sibanda, 4.5 ov), 2-19 (Chibhabha, 6.2 ov), 
3-156 (Masakadza, 32.3 ov), 4-211 (Taylor, 43.3 ov), 
5-213 (Chigumbura, 44.2 ov), 6-218 (Taibu, 45.6 ov), 
7-218 (Williams, 46.1 ov), 8-220 (Matsikenyeri, 46.5 ov)

Bowling	        O	M	R	W	Econ	
Sohail Tanvir	10	0	34	4	3.40	(5w)
Samiullah Khan	10	0	55	0	5.50	
Iftikhar Anjum	6	0	43	2	7.16	
Shoaib Malik	10	1	37	1	3.70	(1w)
Shahid Afridi	10	1	39	1	3.90	(1w)
Younis Khan	4	0	27	0	6.75


Pakistan innings (target: 239 runs from 50 overs)
Salman Butt	c Taibu b Chigumbura                    17
Nasir Jamshed	run out (Price)	                        74
Younis Khan	run out (Sibanda)	                35
Mohammad Yousuf	not out	                                38
Shoaib Malik	st Taibu b Price	                4
Misbah-ul-Haq	c Taylor b Masakadza	                20
Shahid Afridi	not out	                                43
    Extras	(lb 2, w 5, nb 1)	                8
    Total	(5 wickets; 46.2 overs)	                239

Did not bat: Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Samiullah Khan, Iftikhar Anjum 

Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Salman Butt, 6.6 ov), 2-129 (Nasir Jamshed, 20.2 ov), 
3-131 (Younis Khan, 20.5 ov), 4-139 (Shoaib Malik, 24.4 ov), 
5-178 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 37.4 ov)

Bowling	        O	M	R	W	Econ	
E Chigumbura	9	0	56	1	6.22	(1w)
GB Brent	10	2	46	0	4.60	
CJ Chibhabha	5	0	41	0	8.20	
RW Price	10	1	21	1	2.10	(1w)
H Masakadza	8	0	42	1	5.25	(1w)
SC Williams	4	0	29	0	7.25	(1nb)
S Matsikenyeri	0.2	0	2	0	6.00	(1w)