Ghulam’s maiden ton power Pakistan to series win

Ghulam's Maiden Ton Powers Pakistan to Series Win

Pakistan rode on a 58-run opening partnership to get off to a solid start, with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique striking regular boundaries in the first powerplay. Ayub fell against the run of play, but Shafique was joined by Kamran Ghulam, who put on a half-century stand. Ghulam cleared the fence regularly as he helped Pakistan up the ante, eventually registering his maiden ODI ton before falling to Richard Ngarava.

Ghulam's 103 came off 99 balls, with support from Mohammad Rizwan, who got out to Sikandar Raza after a miscue to long-on. Salman Agha and Tayyab Tahir also contributed with handy scores of 30 and 29* respectively, helping Pakistan score 69 runs in the last five overs.

In reply, Zimbabwe were skittled out for 204 in 40.1 overs, with Pakistan coming up with a collective bowling performance. Zimbabwe's lower order showed some fight, but they were eventually wrapped up by the Pakistani bowlers.

Brief scores:

• Pakistan: 303/6 in 50 overs (Kamran Ghulam 103, Abdullah Shafique 50; Sikandar Raza 2-47)
• Zimbabwe: 204 in 40.1 overs (Craig Ervine 51, Brian Bennett 37; Aamer Jamal 2-19)
• Result: Pakistan won by 99 runs.