HARARE: Pakistan pace pair Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi shared eight wickets between them to dismiss Zimbabwe for 176 on the opening day of the first Test in Harare on Thursday.
Hasan rocked the top order with figures of 4-53 while Afridi polished off the tail with 4-43 as the home batsmen struggled to cope with the pace generated on a slow pitch at Harare Sports Club.
Debutant Roy Kaia stood firm in the post-lunch session, top-scoring with 48 before falling leg-before to Hasan while Donald Tiripano chipped in with 28 and Milton Shumba, also playing in his first Test, scored 27.
Zimbabwe, who won the toss and opted to bat, seemingly recovered when Shumba and Kaia lifted them from a precarious 30-4 with a stand of 59 but an unfortunate run out of Shunba put an end to the fight.
Afridi reached 50 Test wickets by dismissing Tendai Chisoro before taking the last two wickets to wrap up the innings.
Zimbabwe were hit hard on the eve of the match when regular skipper Sean Williams was ruled out with a hand injury leaving the captaincy to Brendon Taylor.
Another experienced batsman Craig Ervin also failed to recover from a calf injury.
In the first session Hasan struck twice to give Pakistan an excellent start.
Opener Kevin Kasuza played on to a Hasan delivery in the second over of the match while Afridi had Prince Masvaure caught by Imran Butt at second slip for 11.
Left-arm spinner Nauman Ali came into the attack early and bowled Tarisai Musakanda through the gate for 11.
Taylor flashed rashly at a wide ball from Hasan outside off stump and a thick edge flew to Faheem Ashraf who swallowed up the chance.
Pakistan handed a Test debut to off-spinner Sajid Khan while Zimbabwe included Shumba, Kaia and Richard Ngarava for their first Tests.
Hasan, Shaheen skittle Zimbabwe for 176 in first Test
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Hasan, Shaheen skittle Zimbabwe for 176 in first Test
- Zimbabwe were hit hard on the eve of the match when regular skipper Sean Williams was ruled out with a hand injury
- Afridi reached 50 Test wickets by dismissing Tendai Chisoro before taking the last two wickets to wrap up the innings
Pakistan missions in Saudi Arabia establish helplines, airport teams to facilitate passengers
- Several regional countries shut down their airspace when Iran launched retaliatory strikes against US bases in Gulf nations last week
- Conflict has disrupted air travel, particularly for Pakistani Umrah pilgrims, other passengers in Kingdom’s western regions
Islamabad: The Pakistani embassy in Riyadh and the country’s consulate in Jeddah have set up helplines and deployed teams at regional airports to facilitate Pakistani passengers suffering flight disruptions, state media reported on Sunday.
Several regional countries shut down their airspace when Iran launched strikes against US bases in the Gulf following US-Israeli strikes on Iran last week. The conflict has affected key air corridors and forced airlines to cancel or reroute thousands of flights.
Hundreds of international and domestic flights have been canceled in Pakistan since the conflict began on Feb. 28, with most of them scheduled to fly between the South Asian country and destinations in the Middle East.
“As per the instructions of the Government of Pakistan, the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General of Pakistan in Jeddah have set up round the clock helplines and deployed teams at regional airports to facilitate Pakistani passengers,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
The state media outlet noted that the Middle East war has disrupted air travel, particularly for Pakistani Umrah pilgrims and other passengers in the western regions of Saudi Arabia.
“The situation of Pakistani pilgrims and passengers in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah is stable, while minor operational restrictions and risk warnings are in place in these airspaces,” Radio Pakistan added.
Earlier this week, the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA) denied media reports of a partial closure of the Pakistani airspace from Mar. 3 and Mar. 31.
It said Pakistan’s entire airspace remains fully open, safe, and available for all civil aviation traffic, including commercial flights. It added that alternative routing options are routinely used for affected flows.
“There are no restrictions on commercial operations, arrivals, departures, or overflights across Pakistan,” the PAA said. “Our air traffic controllers and airport teams are fully operational and managing traffic normally.”
