The 25-year-old Pakistan left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem created a new history in Pakistan cricket as they thrashed Zimbabwe in the second T20I to secure the away three-match T20I series by leading it 2-0 with one to go. 

After Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza chose to field first, they were bundled out for their lowest T20I total of 57 runs. Pakistan openers comfortably chased the target without losing any wickets in 5.3 overs. 

Zimbabwe: 57 all out

Zimbabwe openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani started the T20I match strongly by scoring 37/0 in four overs. However, once that opening partnership was broken, they experienced a complete batting collapse. Zimbabwe lost their ten wickets by only adding 20 runs. Only the openers Bennett (21) and Marumani (16) reached the double-digit marks in that innings.

The 57 all out was the new record for Zimbabwe in the lowest completed T20I total. Their previous lowest T20I total was 82 all out against Sri Lanka in Colombo (RPS) on January 18, 2024. 

See Also: Haris Rauf creates new T20I record for Pakistan

Sufiyan Muqeem records best T20I bowling figures for Pakistan

All the Pakistan bowlers performed strongly. Apart from Jahandad Khan, who delivered only one over, all other Pakistan bowlers picked up at least one wicket. While Abbas Afridi recorded 2-1-2-2, Sufiyan Muqeem, who was playing his seventh T20I match, recorded his first T20 fifer and ended the innings with the bowling figures of 2.4-0-3-5. 

Muqeem recorded the best T20I bowling figures by a Pakistan bowler. Umar Gul previously held the record for the best bowling figures for Pakistan with the bowling figures of 3-0-6-5 against New Zealand in 2009 during the ICC World T20 2009. 

New Zealand won by 10 wickets

Pakistan openers Saim Ayub (36.*) and Omair Yousuf (22*) had no hiccups as they chased the target in just 5.3 overs. It was Pakistan's third 10-wicket win in their T20I history after their 2021 Dubai win against India and the 2022 Karachi win against England. Meanwhile, as Pakistan won the T20I with 87 balls remaining, it was the fastest T20I chase for Pakistan by balls remaining in the second innings. Their previous record in this list was winning the 2024 Rawalpindi T20I against New Zealand with 47 balls remaining. 

While Pakistan have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match away T20I series against Zimbabwe, Pakistan right-arm fast bowler Haris Rauf created a new history for his nation.

After Pakistan scored 165/4 in 20 overs after winning the toss, Zimbabwe were all out for only 108 runs in 15.3 overs, as the visitors won the match by 57 runs. Pakistan bowlers dominated in the second innings, especially after the powerplay. 

Haris Rauf finished the match with the bowling figures of 3-0-17-2. After the fast bowler dismissed Ryan Burl (3) in his second over, Rauf bowled Blessing Muzarabani for a golden duck in his third over. 

See Also: Pakistan opener Shahzaib Khan creates history in the ACC U19 Asia Cup

Haris Rauf: Leading T20I wicket-taker from Pakistan

While his first wicket of the match was Rauf’s 108th T20I wicket, he surpassed the leg-spinner Shadab Khan (107 wickets) and became the leading T20I wicket-taker for Pakistan. They are the only two bowlers from Pakistan to collect 100+ T20I wickets. Rauf finished the match with 109 T20I wickets in 76 matches. 

With his 109 T20I wickets, Rauf is now the fifth-leading T20I wicket-taker by an Asian bowler and the second-most T20I wicket-taker by an Asian pacer (after the Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman with 132 wickets). Also, Rauf is the fifth most T20I wicket-taker as a pacer and the 14th most overall T20I wicket-taker. 

Pak spinners dominated after teamwork in batting

During Zimbabwe’s unsuccessful chasing, Pakistan spinners Abrar Ahmed (3/28) and Sufiyan Muqeem (3/20) took three wickets each. Among the Zimbabwe batters, only the opener Tadiwanashe Marumani (33) and captain Sikandar Raza (39) reached the double-digit scores. 

Earlier, in the first batting, all the top-order Pakistan batters got some starts but failed to score big runs. While the opener Saim Ayub scored 24 runs off 18 balls (two fours and one six), Usman Khan scored 39 off 30 balls (two fours and two sixes). From 100/4 in 14.2 overs, Tayyad Tahir and Irfan Khan had a 65-run partnership for the unbroken fifth wicket. While Tahir was not out for 39 not out off 25 balls (four fours and one six), Irfan scored 27 not out off 15 balls (three fours).

Among the Chevrons, skipper Sikandar Raza (1/14), Richard Ngarava (1/41), Wellington Masakadza (1/23), and Ryan Burl (1/27) picked up one wicket each.