HARARE, Sept 9: After winning the first Test convincingly by 221 runs, Pakistan are overwhelming favourites to win the second and final Test against a Zimbabwe team that is fighting hard to focus on cricket amid a battle over payment issues with their board.

But the hosts will hope to put up a much improved performance over a five-day period beginning from Tuesday in hope of squaring the two-match series at the Harare Sports Club.

Zimbabwe suffered a massive defeat to go down 0-1 in the series as Saeed Ajmal toppled their batting with 11 wickets in the match. Pakistan bowlers picked up nine wickets on the final day of the first Test, with spinners Saeed and Abdur Rehman taking four each.

There have only been three days between the two Tests, and the groundstaff had a tough job getting a decent pitch prepared in that time.

The good news for the home side is that Brendan Taylor is back to not only lead the side but also bolster the batting line-up that performed beyond expectations in the first innings and folded miserably in the second.

There was a question mark hanging over the second Test due to the payment row, but Hamilton Masakadza, who captained the side during the first Test when Taylor was on paternal leave, confirmed that Zimbabwe players will definitely play the second Test.

Earlier, the players had threatened to boycott the final ODI of the tour, but Zimbabwe Cricket’s negotiations with the players ended the impasse.

For Pakistan, veteran batsman Younis Khan’s innings was the game-changing contribution in the first Test as the visitors made 419 in their second innings to set a huge target for Zimbabwe. Younis made 200 not out off 404 balls, batting for nearly 10 hours, and was also given the Man-of-the-Match award.

The only positive for Zimbabwe was the partnership between Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller in the first innings. Elton Chigumbura also had a good show with the bat as he scored 69 to take Zimbabwe to 327 in the first innings.

Masakadza, though, was worried about the pitch at Harare that replaced Bulawayo as the venue for the second Test to reportedly avoid travel expenses — a cost-saving measure by the country’s board.

The official reason given, though, was that Queens Club was ‘not in a condition to host the Test’.

Masakadza believes less time to prepare the pitch may render it slightly difficult to negotiate.

”It’s going to get a lot worse, a lot quicker. It’s going to be tough for the groundsman with such a short turnaround and the spinners will definitely come into play much more in the second innings,” he said on Monday.

Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq concurred with Masakadza. “The pitch is a really big concern for us. It’s going to be tricky but we need to be prepared — especially mentally prepared — and we need to be professional.”

Zimbabwe may also include Sean Williams after having sorted out his problems with the board. But who will they drop? Tino Mawoyo failed to live up to expectations, and with Taylor’s return, Masakadza looks set to return to the top and replace Mawoyo.

Chigumbura might have been the other person to miss out had it not been for his significant contribution with the bat — and mysterious under-utilisation with the ball.

Although Taylor is reluctant to don the keeping gloves in the longest format, he might just take over from Richmond Mutumbami despite the latter having a clean match.

Pakistan’s frailty at the top of the order will also give the hosts a lot of confidence, but they need to ensure that the tourists — with a knack of going into a shell first-up — are contained there.

If Pakistan had an experienced opener on the bench, Mohammad Hafeez might have missed the opening Test given his injury in the final ODI.

But Pakistan’s knack of playing through pain — for the fear of losing their place to a youngster — and the tourists’ lack of experience at the top forced Hafeez’s inclusion. He didn’t bowl and managed just 21 runs but, unless he has aggravated the injury, the Twenty20 captain will make the cut once again.

Misbah and the team management will be reluctant to change the winning combination, which will mean another chance for Khurram Manzoor and the underperforming Asad Shafiq.

Teams (from):

ZIMBABWE: Tino Mawoyo, Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor (captain), Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Richmond Mutumbami, Prosper Utseya, Shingirai Masakadza, Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara, Natsai Mushangwe.

PAKISTAN: Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Shan Masood, Wahab Riaz, Ehsan Adil, Faisal Iqbal.

Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Ranmore Martinesz (Sri Lanka).

TV umpire: Owen Chirombe (Zimbabwe). Match referee: Javagal Srinath (India).—Agencies