Pakistan chose to bowl first after winning the toss under overcast conditions at Queen’s Sports Club, Bulawayo. Fresh off an ODI series win in Australia, captain Mohammad Rizwan leads a side missing several senior players for this series against Zimbabwe. Rizwan highlighted the challenges of batting in the opening hour and selected two specialist pacers, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain, for the match. Debutants include left-arm wrist-spinner Faisal Akram and wicketkeeper-batter Haseebullah Khan, while Aamer Jamal, who didn’t play in Australia, also joins the lineup.
Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine acknowledged he would have also opted to bowl first. The hosts field a seasoned lineup with debutants Brian Bennett and medium pacer Trevor Gwandu. This marks Zimbabwe’s return to ODI cricket since January.
Zimbabwe XI: Brian Bennett, Joylord Gumbie (wk), Trevor Gwandu, Tawandanashe Marumani, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine (c)
Pakistan XI: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Haseebullah Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Aamer Jamal, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Faisal Akram
