HARARE, Zimbabwe: Luke Jongwe took four wickets as Zimbabwe pulled off a surprise 19-run victory over Pakistan Friday in the second Twenty20 international of a three-match series at Harare Sports Club.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss, opted to bowl, and the tourists restricted their hosts to 118-9 with 34-run Tinashe Kamunhukamwe the only batsman to impress.
Set a run-a-ball target for victory, Pakistan lost star opener Mohammad Rizwan for only 13 and 41-run Azam was the lone batsman to star as they slumped to 99 all out off 19.5 overs.
Right-arm medium pacer Jongwe (4-18) captured the wickets of Rizwan and Azam, and those of Haris Rauf and Arshad Iqbal as the Pakistan tail collapsed.
Ryan Burl (two), Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava (one each) were the other Zimbabwean wicket-takers.
The result levelled the series at 1-1 and it will be decided at the same venue Sunday as Pakistan seek a second successive T20 series win having beaten South Africa 3-1 before traveling to Zimbabwe.
Rizwan made 82 when Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 11 runs Wednesday, but faced only 18 balls and hit one four before being caught by Tarisai Musakanda.
Fellow opener Azam lasted one hour, faced 45 balls and struck five fours before becoming the fourth Pakistan batsmen to fall, leaving the tourists on 78-4 after 15.5 overs.
With wickets falling cheaply, the tourists began the final over on 99-7 and needing 20 runs to snatch a dramatic victory.
But instead of a run fest, the wickets of Usman Qadir, Rauf and Iqbal fell without any addition to the scoreboard.
Earlier, Kamunhukamwe cracked four fours as he faced 40 deliveries in a 60-minute stand.
His innings ended when caught by Azam off the bowling of Danish Aziz, who was making his second appearance for the tourists.
Fellow opener Brendan Taylor, who missed the first match due to illness, lasted only seven balls before being caught by Mohammad Hafeez off a Faheem Ashraf delivery for five.
Apart from Kamunhukamwe, Regis Chakabva (18), Wesley Madhevere (16) and Tadiwanashe Marumani and Musakanda (13 each) reached double figures for the hosts.
Six Pakistan bowlers shared the wickets with Mohammad Hasnain (2-19) and Aziz (2-29) the most successful, while Ashraf, Iqbal, Rauf and Qadir took one each.
After the T20 series, Zimbabwe and Pakistan will play two Tests in Harare, beginning on April 29 and May 7.
Jongwe snatches four wickets as Zimbabwe surprise Pakistan in T20
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Jongwe snatches four wickets as Zimbabwe surprise Pakistan in T20
- Zimbabwe pulled off a surprise 19-run victory over Pakistan Friday in second Twenty20 international of three-match series
- Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss, opted to bowl, and the tourists restricted their hosts to 118-9
Pakistan cuts key rate by 50 bps to 10.5% in surprise move after holding for four meetings
- An IMF staff report last week warned against premature easing, with analysts expecting SBP to hold the policy rate
- Inflation remains within the bank’s target band, but analysts expect price pressures to rise later in the fiscal year
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent on Monday, the bank said on its website, breaking a hold on the rate for four meetings in a move that surprised analysts and came despite IMF warnings to avoid premature easing.
All 12 analysts in a Reuters poll had expected the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to hold the policy rate at 11 percent.
Monday’s reduction takes the total easing since rates peaked at 22 percent to 1,150 basis points, after the SBP delivered 1,100 bps of cuts between June 2024 and May 2025 and then held the rate steady for four meetings before Monday’s move.
Inflation edged down to 6.1 percent in November from 6.2 percent in October, within the SBP’s 5 percent–7 percent target band, with analysts expecting it to rise again later in FY26 as base effects fade and food and transport prices stay volatile.
An IMF staff report last week warned against premature easing, calling for policy to remain data-dependent to anchor expectations and rebuild external buffers, even as Pakistan received a $1.2 billion disbursement under its loan program.
