Zimbabwe 294 and 199 beat Pakistan 230 and 239 (Misbah 79*, Chatara 5-61) by 25 runs.
HARARE – It took a long time coming. The last time Zimbabwe won a Test against any team other than Bangladesh was in 2001, but they stayed patient through the final day on which Misbah-ul-Haq threatened to dash their hopes to win the second Test and square the two-match series at Harare Sports Club.
At lunch, they were just two wickets away. Pakistan weren’t too far either – they needed 47 with Misbah still around.
But they needed just an over with the new-ball to mop up the Pakistan tail and spark wild celebrations in the ground, in the dressing room, and possibly all over Harare.
The magnitude of this win for a team that is not ranked in the ICC Test team rankings, in circumstances that were testing the fabric of the game in the country, is huge.
The signs were there – the team won a match in the ODI series and competed hard in the first Test only to lose it at the end to some individual brilliance.
There was a bit of Cool Runnings about it; only, that the Zimbabwe team went one better than the Jamaican bobsleigh team to emerge winners.
This was Zimbabwe’s fifth Test win against a major Test-playing nation, a cause for celebration, but also for concern as the team doesn’t play any international cricket before the World T20s in March next year.
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– Espncrickinfo
