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Lahore: Man of the match Mukhtar Ahmed's smashing knock helped Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by five wickets in the first T20I at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday.
Playing an international game on their home soil after six years, Pakistan finally achieved the target of 173, despite suffering from a few hiccups towards the end.
Zimbabwe skipper Elton Chigumbura won the toss and elected to bat first on a belter of a pitch.
The openers Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza gave a very good start before both fell with 58 runs on the board.
Chigumbura played a captain's knock, scoring 54 runs off just 35 deliveries and helped his side to set a competitive target of 173 runs.
Apart from Anwar Ali and Shoaib Malik, the rest of the Pakistani bowlers were expensive. Sami finished with 3 wickets, while Wahab Riaz picked two.
Pakistan's fielding was once again disappointing as they missed a couple of catches and stumping chances, besides the sloppy ground fielding.
Chasing the target, Pakistan started off in brilliant fashion, with Mukhtar Ahmed showing his class. He smashed the Zimbabwean bowlers all over the park throughout his knock of 83. Ahmed Shehzad was a little slow to get off the blocks, but got into the groove soon after. Their 142-run opening partnership was a treat for the eyes, but Shehzad's fall after reaching his fifty soon triggered a mini-collapse.
In the end when Pakistan needed four runs from four deliveries, Shahid Afridi finished things off with a cracking hit
Brief scores
Zimbabwe - 172/6 (Chigumbura 54, Masakadza 43, Sami 3-36)
Pakistan - 173/5 (Mukhtar Ahmed 83, Ahmed Shehzad 55)
Result - Pakistan won by 5 wickets
MOM - Mukhtar Ahmed (Pakistan)
