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RAWALPINDI — Iftikhar Ahmed’s maiden ODI five-wicket haul set up Pakistan’s six-wicket win in the second game against Zimbabwe here yesterday.

Babar Azam provided the finishing touches in a small but tricky chase.

That sealed the series 2-0 with one to play, and gave Pakistan their eighth ODI win in a row.

After Zimbabwe were bowled out for 206 — despite a fighting 70-ball 75 from Sean Willaims — Pakistan made relatively short work of the chase, thanks chiefly to an elegant unbeaten 77 from Azam.

There was almost no drama in the game, a borderline farcical decision from third umpire Ahsan Raza excepted, and the captain’s 16th half-century did the job for them.

Zimbabwe’s only hope of making the game interesting was to pick up early wickets, but Imam-ul-Haq and Abid Ali had other ideas.

They settled in quickly and, in a marked contrast to their soporific approach in the first ODI, showed much more positive intent as the scoring rate pushed past a run-a-ball.

The two of them found the gaps with regularity early on, while the Zimbabwe new-ball bowlers — Richard Ngarava, Carl Mumba and Blessing Muzarabani — didn’t carry nearly as much threat as Pakistan’s quicks did, and in their search for breakthroughs, their discipline faltered.

Tendai Chisoro, who found good turn, brought them hope with a couple of quick wickets, but with the asking rate never going above four, pressure didn’t seem to build up.

The debutant Haider Ali freed his arms after being let off by wicket-keeper Brendan Taylor, a couple of sixes in a delightful little cameo highlighting his potential for Pakistan.

He was most unfortunate to fall the way he did, given out lbw on the field and, somewhat ludicrously, not reprieved by third umpire Raza despite a clear deflection from the glove because Ultra Edge didn’t seem to spike the way it should have.

That minor irritant aside, Pakistan were never in any danger of fluffing their lines. Azam’s touch was supreme, and he milked the spinners with consummate ease, while periodically using his feet to attack and find the boundaries.

When he brought up his half-century, it was more of an inevitability than an occasion, and to Pakistan’s relief, his form in the format that propelled him to stardom seems to be exactly where it was pre-shutdown. But it was the first half when the match was well and truly decided.

Pakistan 208 for 4 (Babar Azam 77*, Imam-ul-Haq 49, Tendai Chisoro 2-49) beat Zimbabwe 206 (Sean Williams 75, Iftikhar Ahmed 5-40, Muhammad Musa 2-21) by six wickets — Cricinfo