| Zimbabwean cricket team in Pakistan in 2020–21 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  | ||
| Pakistan | Zimbabwe | ||
| Dates | 30 October – 10 November 2020 | ||
| Captains | Babar Azam | Chamu Chibhabha | |
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | Pakistan won the 3-match series 2–1 | ||
| Most runs | Babar Azam (221) | Brendan Taylor (204) | |
| Most wickets | Four bowlers took five wickets each[n 1] | Blessing Muzarabani (7) | |
| Player of the series | Babar Azam (Pak) | ||
| Twenty20 International series | |||
| Results | Pakistan won the 3-match series 3–0 | ||
| Most runs | Babar Azam (133) | Wesley Madhevere (103) | |
| Most wickets | Usman Qadir (8) | Blessing Muzarabani (4) | |
| Player of the series | Usman Qadir (Pak) | ||
TheZimbabwe cricket team toured Pakistan in October and November 2020 to play threeOne Day International (ODI) and threeTwenty20 International (T20I) matches.[1][2] All of the matches were playedbehind closed doors at theRawalpindi Cricket Stadium.[3] The ODI series formed part of the inaugural2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.[4][5] Pakistan'sBabar Azam captained the team for the first time in ODI cricket.[6]
In the second ODI,Aleem Dar of Pakistan stood in his 210th ODI match as an on-field umpire, surpassing South AfricanRudi Koertzen's record of officiating in themost ODI matches.[7] In the second T20I,Ahsan Raza of Pakistan stood in his 50th T20I match as an on-field umpire, becoming the first umpire to reach themilestone in T20I cricket.[8]
Pakistan won the first two ODI matches to take an unassailable lead in the series.[9] The third match wastied, with Zimbabwe winning theSuper Over.[10] It was Zimbabwe's first win in an ODI in Pakistansince November 1998.[11] Pakistan also won the first two T20I matches to win the series.[12] They also won the third T20I by eight wickets to take the series 3–0.[13] Zimbabwe'sElton Chigumbura retired from international cricket following the conclusion of the tour.[14]
In August 2020, thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the tour was still going ahead as planned, and were preparing a bio-secure environment, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[15][16] Initially, the PCB were considering to host both the T20I and ODI series at a single venue inLahore.[17] However, in September 2020, it was announced that the T20I and ODI series would be held inRawalpindi andMultan respectively.[18] On 9 October 2020, the PCB moved the matches from Multan to Lahore, following a disagreement with the government in the city over finances.[19] Multan last hosted international matches inApril 2008, when Bangladesh played at the venue.[20]
On 11 October 2020, the PCB confirmed the itinerary for the series, with the ODI matches taking place in Rawalpindi, and the T20I matches taking place in Lahore.[21][22] Smog had been forecast in Lahore during November,[23] with the PCB monitoring the situation.[24] On 23 October 2020, the PCB made a further change to the tour, moving all the T20I matches from Lahore to Rawalpindi, because of the concerns about the smog.[25]
In September 2020,Zimbabwe Cricket stated that the official confirmation of travelling to Pakistan was imminent.[26] Tavengwa Mukuhlani, chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, said he was "hopeful" that the tour would go ahead.[27] On 20 September 2020, Zimbabwe named a preliminary squad of 25 players to begin training ahead of the tour.[28] On 23 September 2020, Zimbabwe Cricket received government permission to travel to Pakistan.[29] On 19 October 2020, the Zimbabwe team departed from theRobert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport,[30] arriving in Pakistan early the next day.[31] The Zimbabwean head coachLalchand Rajput did not travel with the team, so their bowling coachDouglas Hondo was put in charge of the team.[32] The PCB also confirmed the match officials for the tour on the same day.[33]
On 19 October 2020,Misbah-ul-Haq, head coach and chief selector of the Pakistan team, named a twenty-two man squad of "probables" for the series.[38] The squad travelled to Lahore to begin COVID-19 testing and training ahead of the ODI matches,[39] with the squads for each format being named later.[40] Pakistan's vice-captain,Shadab Khan, was ruled out of the ODI series, after suffering an injury during a warm-up game.[41]Haider Ali was added to Pakistan's squad for the second ODI.[42] He replacedHaris Sohail, who suffered an injury during the first ODI match.[43] For the third and final ODI,Abdullah Shafique,Zafar Gohar andMohammad Hasnain were added to the squad, replacingImad Wasim,Abid Ali andHaris Rauf.[44] However, on the morning of the third ODI, Haris Rauf was re-added to the team, afterFaheem Ashraf was suffering from food poisoning.[45]
Ahead of the T20I series,Abid Ali,Haris Sohail andImam-ul-Haq were released from Pakistan's squad.[46]Shadab Khan was also unavailable for selection for Pakistan's squad for the T20Is, due to his earlier injury which ruled him out of the ODI matches.[47][48]
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Pakistan won by 26 runs Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,Rawalpindi Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andAhsan Raza (Pak) Player of the match:Brendan Taylor (Zim) |
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Pakistan won by 6 wickets Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,Rawalpindi Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andAsif Yaqoob (Pak) Player of the match:Iftikhar Ahmed (Pak) |
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Match tied (Zimbabwe won theSuper Over) Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,Rawalpindi Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andRashid Riaz (Pak) Player of the match:Blessing Muzarabani (Zim) |
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Pakistan won by 6 wickets Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,Rawalpindi Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andAsif Yaqoob (Pak) Player of the match:Babar Azam (Pak) |
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Pakistan won by 8 wickets Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,Rawalpindi Umpires:Ahsan Raza (Pak) andRashid Riaz (Pak) Player of the match:Haider Ali (Pak) |
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Pakistan won by 8 wickets Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,Rawalpindi Umpires:Aleem Dar (Pak) andAhsan Raza (Pak) Player of the match:Usman Qadir (Pak) |
