Half-centuries by Malcolm Waller and Sikandar Raza enabled Zimbabwe to take a first innings lead on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at the Harare Sports Club on Wednesday. Zimbabwe were 281-7 at the close, a lead of 32.
Waller changed the tempo of the match with an aggressive 70, while Pakistan-born Raza made 60 on his Test debut. The pair added 127 for the fourth wicket. They came together after Zimbabwe lost two wickets off successive deliveries.
With only one run added to the lunch score of 67-1, Vusi Sibanda was caught behind for 31 off the last ball of an over from Junaid Khan. Captain Hamilton Masakadza was deceived by a Saeed Ajmal doosra and bowled for 19 by the first ball of the next over.
Photo: AFP
Waller hit a boundary off the first ball he faced from Ajmal and continued to go for his shots as he reached his third Test half-century off 63 balls with 11 fours.
Raza, who was a late inclusion in the side when regular captain Brendan Taylor withdrew because of the birth of his first child, started his first Test innings cautiously and contributed only 11 of the first 50 runs of the partnership, although he picked up the pace either side of tea, reaching his fifty off 98 deliveries.
Ajmal, Pakistan’s most successful bowler (4-74), had Waller caught at slip after an innings which lasted 100 balls and included 14 boundaries. Raza, 27, whose family moved to Zimbabwe in 2002, also fell to the off-spinner, mistiming a lofted drive to be caught at midwicket. He batted for 118 balls and hit ten fours.
Elton Chigumbura (40 not out) and Prosper Utseya (16) took Zimbabwe into the lead with a seventh wicket partnership of 43 before the latter was bowled by Rahat Ali in the penultimate over of the day.
It took Zimbabwe just two balls to wrap up the Pakistan innings at the start of play, with the tourists losing their last wicket without adding a run to their overnight score of 249-9.
Ajmal was bowled by the first ball he faced from Tendai Chatara on his overnight score of 49, one short of his second Test half-century.
Tina Mawoyo and Sibanda put on 25 for Zimbabwe’s first wicket. After bowling four overs from over the wicket, the left-armed Junaid switched to around the wicket and the change of angle brought immediate success as Mawoyo nudged tentatively at the first delivery of the new over and was caught behind by Adnan Akmal for 13.
It was a disappointing day for Pakistan, with only Ajmal and Junaid posing a consistent threat to their underdog opponents, although Rahat bowled a hostile three-over spell with the second new ball.
At tea on the third day yesterday, Zimbabwe had taken a 78 run first innings lead, reaching 327 after Elton Chigumbura scored 69. Ajmal finished the innings with 7-95. Pakistan were in early trouble having lost three wickets for 87 runs, just nine runs ahead of Zimbabwe’s first innings total. Tinashe Panyangara had taken 2-12.
Additional reporting by staff writer
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
RSS