Zimbabwe let a great chance of winning slip through their fingers in the 3rd ODI in Multan. Batting first, Pakistan found themselves in a large amount of trouble after Zimbabwe took 4 wickets for just 12 runs scored to leave the home side’s top order in disarray and the score at just 78/5 - but from there Zim had the initiative snatched from their hands as Mishbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi put on a 6th-wicket partnership of 116 to tilt the odds back in Pakistan’s favour. With Prosper Utseya out of the match with a torn hamstring, it fell to a collection of Zim’s part-time bowlers to help pin Pakistan back in the later overs, and while the regular bowlers Brentm, Price, Mupariwa and Chigumbura did their part, the 11 overs bowled by the part-timers (Williams, Chibhabha, Dabengwa and Masakadza) cost the side dearly, with Pakistan eventually posting 272/9 from their 50 overs.
In reply, the heavy work was done by Sean Williams (71) and Brendan Taylor (55), who combined to put on 105 for the 4th wicket after Sibanda, Masakadza and Taibu didn’t quite click on the day - but their progress was slower than Zimbabwe needed to make a real game of it. The regular stream of falling wickets after they left the crease just helped ensure the total was soon beyond them, although Elton Chigumbura’s 42 did add some entertainment value to the later overs.
Zimbabwe did have the chance to win this, but as coach Robin Brown said in his post-match interview, the killer instinct the side needed to take that chance just wasn’t there:
We basically lacked the killer instinct that is required to polish things off. Obviously (we are) disappointed by the effort we put in, it would take a lot of skills and effort to contain the strong Pakistan line-up, something we are lacking.
“I wouldn’t say it was a negative approach. Pakistan bowled really well. They bowled in the right areas and there weren’t that many bad balls. Therefore, it made things really difficult for us and although the batsmen were well set, hitting boundaries became really difficult and the asking-rate kept climbing.
“There are, however, things to be improved upon. Most of our batsmen have been among the runs. Two of our batsmen scored fifties today. We need to look to get 6-7 fifties in a match and only then will we be able to win. Hopefully, we can learn quickly enough to win the next two matches.”
Pakistan 272/9 (50 overs; Shahid Afridi 85, Mupariwa 4/46), Zimbabwe 235/7 (50 overs; Williams 71, Sohail Tanvir 2/41). Pakistan win by 37 runs, win series 3-0 with 2 to play.
Full scorecard below the cut. Next match: Pakistan v Zimbabwe, 4th ODI, Faisalabad: 30th January 2008.