Nauman tears through Zimbabwe as Pakistan close in on innings victory

Published May 9, 2021
Zimbabwe batsman Regis Chakabva plays a shot during the second Test match against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club, Sunday, May, 9. — AP
Zimbabwe batsman Regis Chakabva plays a shot during the second Test match against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club, Sunday, May, 9. — AP

Left-arm spinner Nauman Ali took five wickets as Pakistan closed in on victory by an innings having reduced hosts Zimbabwe to 220 for nine at the close on the third day of the second and final Test at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

Zimbabwe, who still trail by 158 runs, lost 15 wickets on the day having been dismissed earlier for 132 in their first innings, but held out in the fading light to force the game into a fourth day.

They are replying to Pakistan's massive score of 510 for eight declared.

Regis Chakabva struck an impressive 80 in Zimbabwe's second innings that included 13 fours and two sixes, before one slog too many off Nauman (5-86) meant he edged to Babar Azam at slip.

Stand-in captain Brendan Taylor smashed 49 from 31 balls as he tried to put the pressure back on the tourists, but Zimbabwe could not stem the tide as Nauman and seamer Shaheen Afridi (4-45) picked up all the wickets to fall.

Nauman was expensive, conceding more than four runs per over, but got reward on a pitch that is starting to take turn as he also moved past 300 first-class wickets with his haul.

Zimbabwe had resumed their first innings on 52 for four at the start of the day, but Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali returned the excellent figures of 5-27 to help dismiss them cheaply and force a follow-on.

Hasan used all his skill and guile to tear through the Zimbabwe middle-order and continue his impressive form having taken 9-89 in the first Test that the visitors won by an innings and 116 runs.

Opinion

Geopolitical shift in ME

Geopolitical shift in ME

A prolonged conflict will have far-reaching implications for regional geopolitics, sharpening the divisions among Gulf countries that are directly affected by the tensions.

Editorial

Unyielding stances
Updated 13 May, 2026

Unyielding stances

Every day that passes without clarity on how and when the war will end introduces fresh intensity to the uncertainty roiling global markets and adds to the economic turmoil the world must bear because of it.
Gwadar rising?
13 May, 2026

Gwadar rising?

COULD the Middle East conflict prove to be a boon for the Gwadar port? Islamabad’s push to position Gwadar as a...
Locked in
13 May, 2026

Locked in

THE acquittal of as many as 74 PTI activists by a Peshawar court in a case pertaining to the May 2023 violence is a...
Bannu attack
Updated 12 May, 2026

Bannu attack

The security narrative and strategy of the KP government diverges considerably from the state’s position.
Cotton crisis
12 May, 2026

Cotton crisis

PAKISTAN’S cotton economy is once again facing a crisis that exposes the country’s flawed agricultural and...
Buddhist heritage
12 May, 2026

Buddhist heritage

THE revival of Buddhist chants at the ancient Dharmarajika Stupa in Taxila after nearly 1,500 years is much more ...