RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and chose to bowl first against Zimbabwe in the opening match of the T20I tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Pakistan entered the contest with confidence, backed by an impressive 18-3 T20I head-to-head record against Zimbabwe.
The home side also carried strong recent form, having won a tri-series against Afghanistan and the UAE, along with a 2-1 victory over South Africa.
Zimbabwe, led by Sikandar Raza, faced added pressure after being swept 3-0 by Afghanistan in their most recent T20I outing.
The visitors, however, hoped the addition of experienced names such as Brendan Taylor and Graeme Cremer would stabilize their campaign.
Both teams fielded full-strength squads, with Pakistan featuring stars like Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, and Naseem Shah, while Zimbabwe relied on Raza, Ryan Burl, and Richard Ngarava to challenge the hosts.
Head-to-head: Pakistan and Zimbabwe have met 21 times in T20I cricket, with Pakistan dominating the rivalry.
Matches played: 21
Pakistan wins: 18
Zimbabwe wins: 3
Squads:
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Hassan Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq.
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (c), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Wellington Masakadza, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri and Brendan Taylor
