Ghulam's maiden ODI century helps Pakistan to series win against Zimbabwe

Kamran Ghulam’s maiden ODI ton helped Pakistan to beat Zimbabwe by 99 runs as they came from behind to win the third and final match of their series in Bulawayo.

It was the second consecutive ODI Series in which Pakistan have made a comeback to win 2-1, having defeated Australia in similar fashion earlier this month.

Pakistan ran up a total of 303-6, having got off to a strong start as opener Abdullah Rafique made his fifth half-century off 68 balls before Ghulam's 103 from 99 deliveries put the tourists in the ascendency.

Zimbabwe’s bowling attack left much to be desired as Pakistan were able to plunder 69 runs from the last five overs, leaving the Chevrons with an uphill task of claiming an unlikely victory.

Pakistan’s bowlers were in far better form as, aside from Craig Ervine's half-century, Zimbabwe struggled to find a rhythm at the crease, with Brian Bennett (37) the only other batter to make it past 30 runs.

Saim Ayub (2-29), Abrar Ahmed (2-45), Haris Rauf (2-45), and Aamir Jamal (2-19) did much of the damage, limiting Zimbabwe to just 204 runs in their chase as their innings finished with just under 10 overs remaining.

runs balls fours sixes A stellar in his third ODI innings - Kamran Ghulam is the player of the match #ZIMvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/YgXanTI26T

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 28, 2024

Data Debrief – Unwanted milestone for Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe have become the fifth team to record 400 losses in men’s ODI history, joining Sri Lanka (453), India (445), Pakistan (430) and the West Indies (415) to surpass that total.

They have also won only one of their last eight matches in the format (L7), an 80-run victory against Pakistan in the first game of this series (24 November 2024).

Pakistan, on the other hand, have now won four of their last five men’s ODIs away from home (L1). It’s more than they won across their eight such fixtures prior to that span (W2 L6).