Babar Azam equals Virat Kohli’s most T20I fifties record:Pakistan reached Tri-series final after 69-run win over Zimbabwe; Usman scalps hat-trick

Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe by 69 runs in the fourth match of the T20 Tri-Series played in Rawalpindi, securing their spot in Saturday’s final. Babar Azam and Sahibzada Farhan’s 103-run partnership gave the team a strong start. In bowling, Usman Tariq took 4 wickets for 18 runs in 4 overs and became the Player of the Match with a hat-trick. Babar equals Kohli In this match, Babar Azam scored his 38th T20 half-century, equalling Virat Kohli for the most fifties in T20 international cricket. Babar achieved this feat in 127 innings, while Kohli had scored 38 fifties in 117 innings. Virat Kohli retired from this format last year after winning the T20 World Cup. Farhan-Babar’s 103-run partnership laid a strong foundation Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Pakistan got off to a quick start in the powerplay. Opener Saim Ayub scored 13 runs off 8 balls. After his dismissal, Farhan and Babar took control of the innings. In the first 20 balls, Farhan had scored 32 runs, while Babar was on 15 runs. The duo formed a 103-run partnership for the second wicket off 77 balls, putting the team in a strong position. Farhan scored 63 runs off 41 balls, while Babar, after a slow start, played a blistering innings of 74 runs off 52 balls. Finally, Fakhar Zaman added an unbeaten 27 runs off just 10 balls, taking the team’s score to 195 for 5 wickets in 20 overs. Burl fought, but Zimbabwe’s innings faltered Chasing a target of 196 runs, Zimbabwe had a poor start and the team was all-out for 126 runs in 19 overs. For Zimbabwe, Ryan Burl fought brilliantly, scoring an unbeaten 67 runs (49 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes). Additionally, captain Sikandar Raza added 23 runs in 18 balls. Only two batsmen from the team could reach double figures. Usman Tariq’s hat-trick finished the match The biggest contribution to Pakistan’s victory came from young fast bowler Usman Tariq. He took three wickets in three consecutive balls and claimed 4 wickets for 18 runs in a total of 4 overs. Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Faheem Ashraf took 1 wicket each, while Mohammad Nawaz accounted for 2 wickets.