In a tense encounter at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan won by five wickets zimbabwe in the first match of Pakistan T20I Tri-SeriesZimbabwe, after opting to bat first, managed to score 147/8 in their 20 overs, with Brian Bennett playing a solid inning of 49 runs, However, Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz Played a vital role with both ball and bat, helping Pakistan chase down the target with 4 balls to spare, and the score ended at 151/5. Nawaz’s all-round performance, including figures of 2/22 and a match-winning innings of 21 not out from 12 balls, earned him the Player of the Match award.
T20I Tri-Series 2025: Zimbabwe’s brilliant start derailed by Pakistan’s bowling power
Zimbabwe’s innings got off to a great start Brian Bennett And Tadivanashe Marumani Scored 50 runs in just 34 balls. Bennett continued his aggressive approach and scored 49 runs in 36 balls, while Marumani contributed 30 runs in 22 balls. However, after their strong partnership, Zimbabwe’s batting disintegrated under pressure and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nawaz, Saim Ayyub And Shaheen Afridi restricted the flow of runs and Pakistan’s fielding also played a role in dismissing two key players, Tony Munyonga And Brendan TaylorThrough run-out. Zimbabwe finished with 147/8, a score which ultimately was not enough to chase Pakistan’s target.
T20I tri-series 2025: Pakistan’s target almost over under the leadership of Mohammad Nawaz and Fakhar Zaman
Chasing the target, Pakistan did not have a good start and the top order was out cheaply. Babar Azam And salman agha Was out early, leaving Pakistan’s score at 27/3. However, Fakhar ZamanNawaz’s innings of 44 runs in 32 balls and his quickfire 21* in 12 balls turned the game in Pakistan’s favour. Nawaz, in particular, was impressive, hitting a four and a six to finish the game brilliantly. Despite some early setbacks, Pakistan’s experienced middle order showed courage to cross the boundary with 4 balls to spare and sealed the win. The match highlighted Nawaz’s all-round abilities, with his key wickets and crucial innings leading Pakistan to their first win in the tri-series.
Here’s how fans reacted:
This is one of the sketchiest games I have ever seen. There were 3 consecutive balls, 3 controversial moments. A missed catch, a no ball call (for a waist-high full-toss), and a misfield on a straight ball gave Pakistan an easy win. Strange. #PAKvZIM
– Arya (@lfcaryaa) 18 November 2025
Pakistan overcame the challenge to start the T20 tri-series with a 5-wicket win over Zimbabwe. After Bennett’s 49, Fakhar Zaman’s 44 and Usman Khan’s 37 not out made the score 147/8 with 4 balls to spare, Mohammad Nawaz was brilliant with both bat and ball.#PAKvZIM pic.twitter.com/BLnys1Hh0M
– Sportsfreak_Sameer (@Sidarth_World_) 18 November 2025
Brad Evans’ efforts against Pakistan did not go unnoticed as he walked away with the Moment of the Match accolade.
#PAKvZIM #SLvPAK #SLvZIM pic.twitter.com/cbAEo1R3m5– Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) 18 November 2025
Fielding a full strength team against Zim, meanwhile the young talent has been ignored, the management doesn’t believe in bench strength, DVLPNT, and clearly has no vision, Samad, Abbas, Hasan, Hasibullah have all been ignored, while the same faces keep cropping up again. PCB is ignorant, incompetent#PAKvZIM
– Kashif Khan (@kashiftoru7) 18 November 2025
Truly match saving knocks. Both played well directed innings @FakharZamanLive And Usman Khan. and of course, @mnawaz94 Definitely a match winner.#PAKvZIM #PakistanCricket
– محمد ابوبکر سرور (@iambakar6) 18 November 2025
We may have won but this batting line-up will hurt us against strong teams in the World Cup. We also struggled against UAE, SL and BAN in the Asia Cup and now ZIM.
I don’t understand why Aga thinks we are in the right direction, at the moment we are definitely not in the right direction! #PAKvZIM– Maryam (@Maryammr285) 18 November 2025
Nawaz, you are my match winner.
With the ball: 4 overs • 22 runs • 2 wickets
With the bat: 21*(12) • 3 fours • 1 six
Truly one of the finest all-rounders in modern cricket.#PAKvZIM #Cricket pic.twitter.com/fIGSVcaNqb-Umair Khan (@ksz399) 18 November 2025
Liberation of Muhammad Nawaz in 2025
– finishing the game with the bat,
– Providing control and wickets in the middle oversHe has literally become a match winner pic.twitter.com/XZhGXYwR27
– Junaz (@dhilllow_) 18 November 2025
Mohammad Nawaz has been the X factor for Pakistan in batting and bowling for the last one year. pic.twitter.com/cJrwrSDN3q
– Kashif (@KashifNdmCric) 18 November 2025
Pakistan won by 5 wickets in the first match of the tri series.#Cricket #PAKvZIM pic.twitter.com/uZ8jFoXKuk
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 19 November 2025
