ZIM vs PAK, 3rd ODI: Kamran Ghulam's maiden century power Pakistan to series win

Following a disappointing loss in the opening ODI, Pakistan bounced back impressively in the second game and continued their strong performance to secure a 2-1 series victory. Kamran Ghulam's impressive 103 off 99 balls, supported by the rest of the batting lineup, propelled Pakistan to a total of 303/6 in the third ODI in Bulawayo on Thursday, November 28th. In response, Zimbabwe was dismissed for 204 in 40.1 overs, thanks to a collective bowling effort from Pakistan.

Opting to bat first, Pakistan got off to a solid start with a 58-run opening partnership. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique began cautiously but soon started scoring boundaries, including a couple of sixes in the first powerplay. Ayub was unfortunately dismissed, followed by Shafique reaching a fifty off 66 balls before falling to Sikandar Raza.

Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan then built a crucial partnership of 89 runs off 92 balls. Ghulam, who reached his fifty off 59 balls, accelerated the scoring with regular boundaries. Despite Rizwan's dismissal, Ghulam continued his onslaught and registered his maiden ODI century before being dismissed by Richard Ngarava. Pakistan's batters were prolific in the last 10 overs, scoring 102 runs, with contributions from Salman Agha and Tayyab Tahir.

Zimbabwe faced early challenges in their chase as Ayub claimed the wickets of Joylord Gumbie and Dion Myers in the third over. Gumbie was unable to control his pull shot, while Myers played a sweep straight to deep backward square. Despite a promising 39-run partnership between Craig Ervine and Tadiwanashe Marumani, Zimbabwe suffered another setback when Marumani was dismissed lbw after mistiming a pull shot against Abrar Ahmed. Ervine was then joined by Sean Williams in an attempt to build a solid partnership, but their 41-run stand was cut short when Williams chopped a delivery from Haris Rauf onto his stumps, leaving Zimbabwe at 90/4 in the 18th over.

Zimbabwe pinned their hopes on Ervine and Raza to steer them back on course, but both batsmen fell to Aamer Jamal in quick succession after a 33-run partnership, causing the hosts to slide to 130/6 in the 28th over. Brian Bennett then took an aggressive approach, scoring a rapid 37 before becoming Abrar's second victim, followed by Akram's dismissal shortly after. Zimbabwe's lower order put up a fight as Ngarava and Clive Madande delayed Pakistan's victory, but the visitors ultimately sealed the win in the 41st over.

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