Cricket: Pakistan defeat Zimbabwe by two wickets in second T20

Mukhtar Ahmed's fifty and Bilawal Bhatti's blistering 13 off five deliveries helped Pakistan defeat Zimbabwe by two wickets in a nail biting T20 encounter at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

With this win, Pakistan won the two-match T20 series 2-0. Chasing the target of 176, Pakistan eventually reached there with two balls to spare.

Earlier, Zimbabwe's Skipper Alton Chigumbura once again won the toss and elected to bat first.

Openers Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza gave a perfect start to their team scoring 68 runs in 8.3 overs. Masakadza was the first batsman to go as Shoaib Malik got him for 39.

However, Sibanda continued on the other hand and shared a 68 -run stand with Sean William.

Towards the end, Chigumbura played some lovely shots and added 21 runs off nine balls, pushing the score to 175.
Mohammad Sami, Malik and skipper Shahid Afridi picked one wicket each.

Chasing the target, Mukhtar Ahmed and Ahmed Shahzad gave the home team a quick start adding 44 runs in the first five overs.

Mukhtar Ahmed, however, stuck on one end and shared small partnerships with Nuwan Anwar and Shoaib Malik. But the middle order collapsed soon after Ahmed got out and eventually the side was reduced to 161-8 in 18.2 overs.

Bilawal Bhatti, however, kept his cool and scored 13 runs of just five balls to see his team through.