Ghulam maiden ton, bowlers help Pakistan seal series
Ayub, Ahmed, Rauf picked up two wickets apiece to bowl Zimbabwe out for 204 in chase of 304
Ayub, Ahmed, Rauf picked up two wickets apiece to bowl Zimbabwe out for 204 in chase of 304
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Abhimanyu Bose
4.40pm The Pakistan players pose with the trophy. That brings a close to this series, but there's plenty of action to come. The three-match T20OI series begins on December 1. That will be all from us today. On behalf of Ranjith, Shashwat and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo, this is Abhimanyu signing off.
4.30pm Time for the presentation ceremony.
Mohammad Rizwan: "[On responding to going 0-1 down] Obviously proud feeling because we lost the first game and expectations from the country are high, but we came back and won and that's given us more confidence. Away matches are always difficult. Australian conditions were different from ours, same here. But we were very professional and made the most of difficult conditions. As a team we had decided that we will never look to the condition because pitch is the same for us and the opposition. As a professional we have to perform regardless of conditions. Yesterday we decided due to the weather we will bat first. Because we were going to bat first and we put a good total, we were discussing about finishing 20 overs for the DLS in case it rained. This is the first time Pakistan have bowled 20 overs in one hour."
Craig Ervine: "The top of the order has been a problem for us throughout the series. Losing early wickets put us on the back foot and we couldn't get any substantial partnerships. We've always been up with the [required] rate but it's just about the application, building those partnerships so the lower order can come finish the job. [On youngsters] We have some really good youngsters coming through and this series was a great one for them to come show their skills. Look forward to a lot more contribution from those guys, along with the seniors. I'll head back to Harare tomorrow. Few days off and then off to the Afghanistan series. Lot of credit to the bowlers for how they went on a wicket that didn't offer a great deal. A lot of effort they put in, unfortunately we couldn't win the series, but 2-1 nonetheless."
Saim Ayub is the player of the series. Here's what he had to say: "[On the conditions] It was similar to the last game but the pitch was a little slower than the last game. [On his dismissal] We just see the ball and react. Sometimes it goes outside the boundary, sometimes it's caught. We can just focus on the process and enjoy our game. [On the bowling effort] We try to stay present and enjoy all the time on the field and each other's company."
The player of the match, unsurprisingly, is Kamran Ghulam.
4.15pm So Pakistan wrap up a 99-run victory on the back of Kamran Ghulam's maiden ODI century. Tayyab Tahir, Agha Salman, Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan all played good supporting acts with the bat, while it was an all-round team effort on the bowling front, with Aamir Jamal, Saim Ayub, Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed all picking two wickets apiece. Craig Ervine led Zimbabwe's chase with a half-century and had support from Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza, while Brian Bennet played a neat counter-attacking knock, but they couldn't do nearly enough to challenge Pakistan. They are still looking for that first ODI series win against Pakistan. Hang around for the presentation ceremony.
C Madande lbw b Haris Rauf 20 (57m 32b 1x4 0x6) SR: 62.50
Thanks Shashwat. Looks like Pakistan will wrap this up soon
And with that, it is time to welcome Abhimanyu back one final time in this game
R Ngarava b Faisal Akram 17 (23m 16b 2x4 1x6) SR: 106.25
Ayub, Ahmed, Rauf picked up two wickets apiece to bowl Zimbabwe out for 204 in chase of 304