Harare: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq stood firm as his side lost five wickets chasing victory on the fourth day of the second Test against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.
Set 264 to win, Pakistan were 158 for five at the close of play, setting up a tense last day with Zimbabwe having a realistic chance of sharing the series and earning a rare victory against one of cricket’s major nations.
Misbah was unbeaten on 26 and will resume batting on Saturday with wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal (17 not out), with Pakistan needing another 106 runs to win.
Pakistan made an aggressive start to the chase after bowling out Zimbabwe for 199, breaking a trend of slow scoring on a wearing, cracked pitch. But they were forced to become more cautious as the Zimbabwe bowlers struck at regular intervals.
First-change bowler Tendai Chatara made a crucial breakthrough when he dismissed Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali in quick succession to reduce Pakistan to 46 for two in the 12th over.
Opening batsman Manzoor Ahmed stroked his way to his second half-century of the match, hitting 11 fours in an innings of 54 before he was caught at short leg off off-spinner Prosper Utseya.
That brought Misbah in to join fellow veteran Younis Khan but Pakistan suffered a huge blow when Younis was bowled for 29, shaping to play left-armer Brian Vitori to leg and losing his leg stump.
Misbah might have given a difficult chance when he was on 14, with wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami diving far to his right but unable to hold on to a low deflection.
But Mutumbami made no mistake when Asad Shafiq tried to cut Utseya and top-edged the ball into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
Chatara finished the day with two for 29 from 13 overs, while Utseya had two for 40 from 13 overs. (Agencies)