Zimbabwe chose to bat vs Pakistan
Zimbabwe will bat first after winning the toss in Harare in the first of two Test matches. In sunny conditions at the Harare Sports Club, Brendan Taylor, deputising for an injured Sean Williams, said his side wanted to take advantage of the better batting conditions early on, and try to build scoreboard pressure. Roy Kaia comes into the side for his debut Test, while Richard Ngarava edges out Victor Nyauchi in Zimbabwe’s first Test against Pakistan in eight years.
Babar Azam’s side will try and atone for the last time these two played red-ball cricket, when Zimbabwe ran out surprise winners. They go in with two spinners, with Sajid Khan earning a debut as he looks to operate alongside Nauman Ali. Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali are the premier fast bowlers, with Faheem Ashraf the allrounder at No. 7.
It is a chance for Pakistan to pick up a first away Test win under head-coach Misbah-ul-Haq; their last eleven away Tests have seen nine defeats and two rain-affected draws.
Zimbabwe: 1 Prince Masvaure, 2 Kevin Kasuza, 3 Tarisai Musakanda, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt), 5 Milton Shumba, Roy Kaia, Regis Chakabva (wk), Donald Tiripano, Tendai Chisoro, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava.
Pakistan: 1 Imran Butt, 2 Abid Ali, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Nauman Ali, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Sajid Khan, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000
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