BULAWAYO (Zimbabwe), Nov 15: Pakistan cricket squad arrived in the ‘City of Kings’ Thursday to begin preparations for the second and final Test of the series against Zimbabwe, starting Saturday.

Having won the first Test in Harare by 119 runs with a day to spare, Wagar Younis’s team will approach second Test full of warrior confidence in a city also know as ‘the place of killing’ because of its bloody past.

They will be playing on a slowish wicket that will last all scheduled five days and the weather, if it stays dry, might well be very hot.

Pakistan team is likely to be the same as the one which defeated Zimbabwe, despite some shaky batting performances by Saleem Elahi, Younis Khan and Hasan Raza.

The policy appears to be that batsmen should be given a fair run to prove themselves. Elahi, in particular, though scoring only two runs in two innings, has been in and out of the side several times.

Zimbabwe also had too many batting failures for their own liking at Harare, Campbell’s 2 and 30 once again belied his true capabilities. Guy Whittall, who once hit a century off Pakistan, scraped up nine runs in two innings.

Hamilton Masakadza, who hit a century off West Indies here in his maiden Test innings last year, also managed only nine runs.

Meanwhile Zimbabwe have dropped Guy Whittall and Blessing Mahwire from the team.

Batsman Mark Vermeulen and all-rounder Mluleki Nkala were named in the side that will attempt to square the two-match series.

Teams:

Zimbabwe: Alistair Campbell (captain), Dion Ebrahim, Hamilton Masakadza, Grant Flower, Andy Flower, Mark Vermeulen, Tatanda Taibu, Andy Blignaut, Ray Price, Mluleki Nkala, Henry Olonga. 12th men: Guy Whittall, Blessing Mahwire.

Pakistan (probable): Wagar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saleem Elahi, Younis Khan, Taufiq Umar, Yousuf Youhana, Hasan Raza, Kamran Akmal, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami. 12th man: Mohmmad Zahid.—AFP