By cricket365.com
Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza has urged his team to apply themselves better after going down to a heavy defeat against Pakistan in the opening game of the T20I tri-series in Harare on Sunday.
The hosts had won the toss and elected to bowl first but conceded a total of 182/4 in their 20 overs before slumping to 108 all out to give the Asian side a comprehensive 74-run victory.
It was always going to be tough for Zimbabwe as they are without some of their best players due to a pay dispute with the board while a further blow was had in the field when seamer Kyle Jarvis suffered a suspected broken thumb.
Jarvis had bowled two overs for just nine runs in his opening spell before he left the field.
Masakadza said after the game: “Only bright point was winning the toss. We gave them 20 runs extra. It was not ideal that Jarvis went out injured as well.
“We started okay but we lost our way in the middle period. Our batting order was fine, but the execution was a problem.
“Just the first game of the series. We don’t need to make changes in the team yet, but we need to apply ourselves better at the top of the order.”
Zimbabwe’s next game in the tri-series is against Australia on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the hosts could be without fast bowler Kyle Jarvis for the rest of the T20 tri-series after he was taken to hospital for X-rays for a suspected broken thumb, according to reports.
ESPN reports Jarvis hurt his hand dropping a catch in the 14th over of the tri-series opener against Pakistan in Harare Sunday.
Jarvis had gone for 1-9 from two overs opening the bowling for Zimbabwe before dropping Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman at wide long-on.
The 29-year-old put in a dive to take the catch, but once the opportunity was missed, he showed signs of pain and called for Zimbabwe’s medicos.
With Jarvis out of the attack, Pakistan raced away to a match-winning total of 4-182 before the tourists bowled Zimbabwe out for 108 to record a 74-run victory.
The loss of Jarvis would be a huge blow for a Zimbabwe outfit that is already missing five key players due to an ongoing pay dispute.
Without the likes of Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza, Graeme Cremer, Sean Williams and Craig Ervine, Zimbabwe are up against it facing two of the world’s top three T20 teams in Pakistan (No.1) and Australia (No.3).
