Pakistan 285 and 369 beat Zimbabwe 225 and 310 (Ebrahim 69, G Flower 69, A Flower 67, Shoaib Akhtar 4-75) by 119 runs
Scorecard

This was a brave display from Zimbabwe's batsmen, but their attempt to beat Pakistan in the first Test at Harare was doomed to failure once they were set a record target of 430.

Grant Flower and Dion Ebrahim both made 69 and Andy Flower 67, but in the end they were comfortably beaten by 119 runs, with Shoaib Akhtar taking 4 for 75. It was Zimbabwe's sixth Test defeat in a row.

The day started extremely well for Zimbabwe, with 135 runs coming before lunch - they thumped no fewer than 20 boundaries in an extended morning session of 34 overs. They lost just one wicket in that time, when Alistair Campbell was caught behind for 30 off a peach of a delivery from Mohammad Sami that bounced and left him (51 for 2).

Ebrahim and an unusually expansive Grant Flower (he slammed 12 fours) took it up to Pakistan, adding 111 for the third wicket before Ebrahim committed the ultimate act of folly - offering no stroke to Shoaib - and was bowled (162 for 3).

Grant Flower was next to go, well caught down the leg side by debutant wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal as he looked to angle Saqlain Mushtaq down to fine leg (201 for 4), and Saqlain struck again in his next over when Guy Whittall edged a doosra and was caught at slip by Younis Khan (203 for 5).

Andy Flower and Tatenda Taibu survived until tea, and Taibu had reached 28 when he was Waqared in classic style, lbw to a vicious reverse-swinger (256 for 6). Flower reached a 74-ball 50 before Andy Blignaut (12) was caught at slip as he miscued a heave at Saqlain (280 for 7). Waqar then got rid of Blessing Mahwire for 3 - another boomeranging yorker, another lbw.

The writing was firmly on the wall, indelibly so when Andy Flower finally fell, caught and bowled somewhere near midwicket by Shoaib off a skied pull, and the match was finished when Shoaib tore through Henry Olonga's defences and bowled him off stump.

This was an important win for Pakistan, a return to something resembling form after their humbling at the hands of Australia. It also made it 14 Tests without a draw for them; eight wins, six defeats, a record even an American could love.

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