Close Pakistan 285 and 14 for 1 lead Zimbabwe 225 (Taibu 51*, Blignaut 50, Mohammad Sami 4-53) by 74 runs
Scorecard

Pakistan were 74 runs in front with nine second-innings wickets standing at the end of the second day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at Harare. Pakistan, who made 285 yesterday, bowled Zimbabwe out for 225, a lead of 60. But they lost Salim Elahi for a duck in their second innings just before the umpires called off play for bad light. At the end Pakistan had 14 for 1, Taufeeq Umar having scored all the runs.

Pakistan's fast bowlers – Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis and Mohammad Sami – gave their side an early advantage by ripping through the top order. Zimbabwe dipped to 43 for 3 as Hamilton Masakadza (a first Test catch for the debutant wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal) and Alistair Campbell went cheaply, followed by Dion Ebrahim for a sparky 31.

Later on Pakistan ripped through the tail as well – but it was the middle order that held them up. The Flower brothers started the resistance: Grant made 31 before he was lbw to Waqar, and Andy a brisk 29 before he was unlucky to be given out caught down the leg side by umpire Venkat off Sami, when the ball appeared only to have struck his thigh.

It was left to the tiny wicketkeeper Tatenda (which means thank you) Taibu and allrounder Andy Blignaut to keep Zimbabwe in the game. They added 63 in wildly contrasting styles. Taibu grafted through the afternoon for his 51 – his first Test fifty – and he irritated Shoaib, who sent one express delivery flying down the leg side at 156kph. In contrast Blignaut, who took five wickets yesterday, blasted his first ball off Saqlain Mushtaq for six, and then hammered another three fours to ensure that Saqlain's offspin was withdrawn from the attack.

After tea, Blignaut obviously decided he was not hitting out enough, slamming 4, 4, 6 and 3 to take him to 50, before he holed out next ball to Hasan Raza off Sami, whose final figures were 4 for 53. Shoaib ended up with three wickets, all of them bowled.

Pakistan began their second innings badly with another failure by Elahi. His duck, added to 2 in the first innings, puts his place in doubt for the second and final Test at Bulawayo. But before that, there's still all to play for at Harare.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd